Creighton University
North Dakota State
Women's Basketball Wins Third Straight, Tops NDSU
12/29/2008 9:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
After a sluggish first half, which saw the Jays make just four of their first 25 shots, the Bluejay offense finally came to life midway through the second half. After CU went 3-for-10 to start the second half from the field, it went 8-for-13 to finish the game strong. The Jays fell behind by 11 as the home-standing Bison (4-6) opened the second half on a 10-3 run to push their lead to 32-21 less than five minutes into the half.
NDSU was ahead 34-24 before the Jays began their comeback. An unlikely duo jump started the run, as Kellie Nelson and DaNae Moore hit field goals to cut into the Bison lead. After a three-pointer by NDSU's Skye Smith put the Bison up 37-28, the Jays rattled off the game's next 15 points to go ahead 43-37. Nelson and Moore again scored in the 15-0 run, while Woodard drained three of her four second-half treys during the spurt.
NDSU answered CU's 9-0 run with an 11-2 burst to build its lead back to eight, up 19-11 with just under six minutes to play in the half. CU closed the first half on a quick 7-3 run to draw within four at intermission, trailing 22-18.
CU made just four of its first 25 shots, before ending the first half shooting 7-of-33 from the field or 21.2 percent. NDSU's offense wasn't much better in the first 20 minutes, making just four of its first 16 shots and finishing 8-of-26 (.308) in the opening half.
The Jays shot 47.8 percent in the second half, including 6-of-8 (.750) from three-point range after the half. The Jays shot a season-high 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from three-point range. CU limited NDSU to an opponent season-low of 28.8 percent shooting from the field, including just 2-of-18 (.111) from long range.
Herring joined Woodard in double figures with 11 points, but made just 4-of-17 shots from the floor. Megan Neuvirth led all players with 10 rebounds and led the Jays with three assists, three blocked shots and two steals. CU out-rebounded NDSU 43-36.
Creighton returns to action when it opens MVC play on New Year's Day at
NOTES: Creighton's 18 first-half points were the fewest scored by the Jays in a half since scoring 18 in the first half at Rutgers, Nov. 16, 2007 ... 1997 MVC Player of the Year, former Bluejay and Fargo native, Carrie Welle, was in attendance at the game ... Michaela Kraft, CU's first North Dakota native since Welle, appeared in her second game of the year. Kraft joined the team after the season started due to injuries on the Bluejays ... The game marked the first for Creighton in the state of
