OMAHA, Neb. – Freshman Kelsey Woodard led the Bluejays with 14 points and senior Sara Cain pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds to lead Creighton to a 62-59 victory over Southern Illinois Thursday night at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.  The Bluejays held SIU (8-14, 4-8 MVC) to just six first-half field goals and surpassed last season’s victory total with their 14th win of the year.

Creighton (14-8, 7-4 MVC) scored the first eight points of the game and kept the Salukis scoreless until Erin Pauk hit one of nine SIU three-pointers on the night 3:27 into the game.  After SIU pulled within four, down 12-8 with 13:46 left in the first half, the Bluejays opened up a nine-point lead, up 20-11, 12 minutes into the game.  The Jays led by as many as 11 points in the first half before taking a 28-20 lead into the break, as SIU equalled the lowest first-half point total for a Bluejay opponent this season.

SIU scored the first five points of the second half and pulled within one by using an 11-4 burst out of the locker room to cut the score to 32-31 in favor of CU.  The Jays would maintain their lead until a Courtney Sales layup with 9:17 evened the game at 42.  After Cain responded with a bucket, SIU answered with an Ellen Young three-pointer to take its first lead of the game, up 45-44 with 8:38 left.

From there, SIU would go up by two on an Erica Smith free-throw, but the Salukis would make just three field goals down the stretch.  CU drained four consecutive free-throws to take a 48-46 lead and would never trail again.  Creighton pushed ahead by six with 49 seconds to play, but two free-throws from Sales and a desperation banked three-pointer by Young cut the CU lead to 60-59 with six seconds left.  Woodard would ice the game at the free-throw line and finish with 12 of her team-high 14 points in the second half.

Young led all players with 16 points off the SIU bench, as the rookie made 4-of-8 three-pointers in the game.  Smith (12), Jayme Sweere (11) and Sales (10) would also reach double-figure point totals for the Salukis.  

Woodard scored all of her second-half points in the final 7:28 of the game to help secure the win for CU.  The freshman went a career-best 8-for-8 at the free-throw line.  Megan Neuvirth scored 11 of her season-high 13 points in the first half, while she added three steals.  Cain surpassed her previous career-best rebounding total of nine to lead all players with 11 boards.

The Bluejays shot 52 percent (13-25) in the second half and finished 44 percent (22-50) from the field.  The Jays were 0-for-6 from three-point range, snapping a streak of 228 straight games with a made three-pointer for Creighton, dating back to Dec. 20, 2000.

CU dominated the inside, out-rebounding SIU 38-27 and out-scoring SIU 32-18 in the paint.  The Jays used 10 offensive rebounds to score 16 second-chance points as well.

The Jays return to the hardwood when they play host to first-place Evansville (16-7, 10-2 MVC) on Sunday at 12:05 p.m.  The game can be heard live on Spirit 88.9 FM and online at www.kvss.com.

WICHITA, Kan. -- University of Northern Iowa freshman Jacqui Kalin scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Panthers to a 64-54 victory at Wichita State Thursday night. The win is the Panthers' third straight and the 19^th consecutive victory over the Shockers.

Traci Ollendieck scored nine points, and Lizzie Boeck and Nicole Clausen each scored seven for UNI. Kiki Stephens and Kyrie Kinder each scored nine points to lead WSU.       

Wichita State (8-16, 2-10) scored first, and the Panthers answered with a layup from Kalin and a three from Ollendieck that gave UNI (10-13, 6-6) a 5-2 lead early. The Panther lead stayed between one and three points until Kalin hit a three from the right wing to put UNI in front 18-14 with 8:07 left in the half.

Whitney Rice returned it to a one-point game when she hit a three on the Shockers' next possession. Alex Bunton scored on the block for to give WSU the lead, 19-18, and then Jennifer DeGarmo drained a three to give the Shockers a four-point advantage, 22-18 with 6:08 on the clock.

Kalin hit a short jumper at the six-minute mark to end the WSU run, and Danielle Wubbens found Lizzie Boeck on the block for a basket that tied the game at 22-22.  Boeck got a three from the top of a key to bounce in, putting the Panthers back in the lead, 25-22 with 4:55 remaining in the period. Wubbens scored on a layup, Nicole Clausen hit a three and Erin Brocka knocked down a 15-foot jumper to put the Panthers in front by 10, 32-22 at the two-minute mark.

Kiki Stephens put back an offensive rebound to end UNI's 14-0 run and cut the UNI lead to single digits, 32-24. Kalin scored at the one-minute mark to keep the Panther advantage at 10 points, but Kyrie Kinder hit a three from the right wing to pull the Shockers within seven, 34-27.

Kalin hit a three with 12 seconds remaining in the period to send the Panthers into the break in front by 10, 37-27.

WSU scored the first five points of the second period to cut the Panther lead in half, 37-32. UNI answered with a 6-0 run to extend its lead to 43-32.

Daria Frazier hit a three for the Shockers, and DeGarmo hit a pair of free throws to pull the Shockers back within six, 43-37 with 12:24 to play.

Clausen used a three-point play to put the Panthers back up by nine, but a free throw from Stevens and a three from DeGarmo pulled the Shockers within five, 46-41 with 10:28 remaining.

Kalin was fouled as she drove the length of the floor and hit a layup, and her free throw put UNI back up by eight, 49-41. Ollendieck returned it to a 10-point Panther lead with a pair of free throws at 7:20, and Kalin put UNI up by a dozen, 53-41, with a pair of free throws at 6:39.

Kinder scored on back-to-back trips to pull the Shockers within eight, but Brocka answered with a long jumper to keep the difference at 10 points, 55-45 with 3:50 left.

Trailing 57-47, Samantha Smith scored for the Shockers, and Daria Frazier followed with a layup as she was fouled. Her free throw pulled WSU within five with 2:10 to play, 57-52.

Clausen made one of two free throws to put UNI in front by six. Smith was fouled as she made a layup with 58 seconds left.  She missed the free throw, keeping the UNI lead at four, 58-54.

The Panthers collected the rebound off the missed free throw, and Brocka was sent to the free-throw line. She hit a pair to stretch the lead to six, 60-54 with 53 seconds remaining.

UNI came up with a stop on the defensive end, and the Shockers sent Kalin to the line. She put the Panthers in front by eight with a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left, and after UNI came up with another defensive stop, Ollendieck hit a pair to put the Panther lead back at 10 points, 64-54, which would become the final score. 

The Panthers shot 50 percent (14-of-28) from the floor in the first half, but went cold in the second period, shooting 7-of-28 (25 percent) to finish shooting 21-of-56 (38 percent) for the game. UNI was 5-of-22 (23 percent) from three-point range, and the Panthers were 17-of-18 (94 percent) from the free-throw line.

WSU shot 20-of-58 (35 percent) from the floor, including 5-of-18 (28 percent) from behind the arc. The Shockers were 9-of-13 (69 percent) from the free-throw line.

The Panthers committed a season-low eight turnovers, compared to 15 for the Shockers. WSU outrebounded UNI, 41-36.

The Panthers return to action on Saturday when they play at Missouri State. Tipoff is set for 1:05 p.m.

Missouri State 73, Bradley 66

The Missouri State Lady Bears raced out of the gate to a 21-point halftime lead, then withstood the Bradley Braves’ second-half rally to earn a 73-66 win Thursday evening in Missouri Valley Conference women’s college basketball action at Hammons Student Center. Junior forward Maggie Dwyer’s 20-point night led all scorers, and Tiff Terwelp nearly completed a triple-double in helping the Lady Bears sweep the Braves for the first time since 2003-04.

Despite playing without the services of two starters for nearly the entire second half, MSU forced 25 turnovers and limited BU to 35 percent shooting from the floor to improve to 8-15 overall and 6-6 in the Valley. Senior guard Tahnee Balerio went down midway through the first half with an injury and did not return, and sophomore guard Melissa Busby was lost to injury early in the second stanza after knocking down a pair of key three-pointers in the first half.

After a dismal first-half effort, Bradley hit 45 percent of its second-half shots to outscore MSU 41-27 after the break and turn a lopsided contest into a tightly-contested game.

Missouri State was able to hold off the BU comeback bid thanks in large part to a sparkling first-half effort that saw the Lady Bears shoot over 51 percent from the field. MSU knocked down its first three shots and 11 of its first 19 field goal attempts to jump out to leads of 8-0 and 29-12. Busby buried a three-pointer just five seconds into the contest and the Lady Bears caught fire from there, connecting on 17-of-33 first-half field goal tries in building a 46-25 halftime advantage.

The Lady Bears were especially hot from long range, hitting 6-of-9 first-half attempts from beyond the three-point arc. Dwyer drilled a trey from the right wing on MSU’s second possession of the ballgame to make it a 6-0 contest, and Busby hit the Lady Bears’ fourth triple just 4:22 into the game to push the lead to 18-6. A Jasmyne Watson three-point play and a Terwelp lay-in with 9:11 left in the period made it a 17-point MSU lead, and Bradley got no closer than 13 points the rest of the half.

Dwyer led the Missouri State attack with 14 points in the opening 20 minutes of play. MSU’s defense flustered Bradley throughout the period, forcing the Braves to commit 14 turnovers while shooting just 26.5 percent from the field.

Missouri State maintained its double-digit advantage over the first 15 minutes of the second half, allowing the visitors to get no closer than 15 points until Skye Johnson’s three-point play with 5:47 left on the clock cut the margin to 61-47. BU’s Jenny Van Kirk then scored five straight points to cap a 15-4 run that sliced the MSU lead to nine points with 4:48 to play.

Dwyer would give the Lady Bears some breathing room with her basket at the 4:16 mark, but Bradley got three-pointers from Van Kirk and Renee Frericks down the stretch to close to within five points in the final minute of play.

The Lady Bears put the game on ice by knocking down all 10 of their free throw attempts over the final 2:18. Missouri State committed a season-high 29 turnovers, but also recorded 17 steals, their best single-game effort of the year.

Terwelp registered a career-high seven steals and just narrowly missed her fifth-straight double-double. The senior forward also handed out a season-high five assists and came within one point and three steals of recording just the second triple-double in the history of the MSU program with her nine-point, 13-rebound effort.

Kelly Krumwiede led Bradley with an 11-point, 10-rebound night, while Van Kirk and Rachel Merriman also tallied 11 points for the Braves, who fell to 9-14 overall and 3-9 in MVC play.

The Lady Bears will welcome UNI to Hammons Student Center Saturday (Feb. 16) at 1:05 p.m. as part of Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame weekend, as well as the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s "Think Pink" campaign benefitting the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks.