Friday, November 11
Grand Forks, N.D.
7:00 PM
Creighton University
72
at
54
North Dakota
Women's Basketball Tops North Dakota 72-54 to Open Season
11/11/2011 10:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Sarah
Nelson led all players and tied a career-high with 17 points as the
Creighton women's basketball team opened the 2011-12 season with a 72-54
road victory at North Dakota Friday night. The victory was Creighton's
first road-opening win since 1998 and the win was the 171st win of head
coach Jim Flanery's career, moving him ahead of Connie Yori for second
place in Bluejay history.
North Dakota (0-1) scored the first five points of the game before Nelson scored the first points of the year for the Bluejays (1-0), to trim the UND lead back to 5-2. The Fighting Sioux responded with a three-pointer to give them their largest lead of the night, up 8-2 90 seconds into the game.
Creighton would not own its first lead of the night until just over 10 minutes had passed, when junior Ally Jensen hit her first three-pointer of the year to put the Bluejays ahead 16-13. The Jays would never trail again, pushing ahead by six just before halftime as freshman Taylor Johnson scored the final two buckets before the half to put the Jays ahead 34-28 at the break.
Nelson scored 13 of her game-high 17 points in the first half, making 5-of-6 field goals, as the Bluejays shot 15-of-27 from the field (.556) in the opening frame, including 14-of-19 (.736) inside the three-point arc.
Creighton's first double-digit lead of the night came when senior DaNae Moore score her first basket of the night just 70 seconds into the half. The closest the home team could get the rest of the way, was a 45-38 Bluejay advantage with 12:08 to play.
An 11-0 Bluejay run sealed the victory for Creighton. A three-point play by freshman Alexis Akin-Otiko concluded the run with 5:35 left in the game and gave the Bluejays a commanding 62-43 lead.
Nelson finished 7-for-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from the free-throw line to lead all players and tie her career-high with 17 points. Jensen finished with 13 points, making 3-of-7 three-pointers, to go along with four assists in just 24 minutes of action. Carli Tritz added 10 points and five assists in 23 minutes.
The Bluejays shot 49.1 percent from the field, their best field goal percentage in a season-opener since 2006. Creighton finished an impressive 22-of-34 from inside the three-point arc, shooting 64.7 percent from close range, compared to 6-of-23 (.261) from deep. The Jays outrebounded the Sioux, 33-30, led by Akin-Otiko's five boards.
UND was led by Allyssa Wall's 13 points and 10 rebounds. Nicole Smart (12) and Madi Buck (10) also scored in double figures for the Sioux.
Creighton had not won its first road game of the year since 1999 (after opening at home) and had not won a true road game to open the season since winning at Wyoming in 1998. The Jays had been 0-9 in their first road game of the season under Flanery before Friday night. The 171st win moves him alone into second place, ahead of the 170 won by his predecessor Connie Yori – all with him on the bench as an assistant.
The Bluejays look for their first 2-0 road start since 1995 when they play at North Dakota State (0-1) on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm.
North Dakota (0-1) scored the first five points of the game before Nelson scored the first points of the year for the Bluejays (1-0), to trim the UND lead back to 5-2. The Fighting Sioux responded with a three-pointer to give them their largest lead of the night, up 8-2 90 seconds into the game.
Creighton would not own its first lead of the night until just over 10 minutes had passed, when junior Ally Jensen hit her first three-pointer of the year to put the Bluejays ahead 16-13. The Jays would never trail again, pushing ahead by six just before halftime as freshman Taylor Johnson scored the final two buckets before the half to put the Jays ahead 34-28 at the break.
Nelson scored 13 of her game-high 17 points in the first half, making 5-of-6 field goals, as the Bluejays shot 15-of-27 from the field (.556) in the opening frame, including 14-of-19 (.736) inside the three-point arc.
Creighton's first double-digit lead of the night came when senior DaNae Moore score her first basket of the night just 70 seconds into the half. The closest the home team could get the rest of the way, was a 45-38 Bluejay advantage with 12:08 to play.
An 11-0 Bluejay run sealed the victory for Creighton. A three-point play by freshman Alexis Akin-Otiko concluded the run with 5:35 left in the game and gave the Bluejays a commanding 62-43 lead.
Nelson finished 7-for-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from the free-throw line to lead all players and tie her career-high with 17 points. Jensen finished with 13 points, making 3-of-7 three-pointers, to go along with four assists in just 24 minutes of action. Carli Tritz added 10 points and five assists in 23 minutes.
The Bluejays shot 49.1 percent from the field, their best field goal percentage in a season-opener since 2006. Creighton finished an impressive 22-of-34 from inside the three-point arc, shooting 64.7 percent from close range, compared to 6-of-23 (.261) from deep. The Jays outrebounded the Sioux, 33-30, led by Akin-Otiko's five boards.
UND was led by Allyssa Wall's 13 points and 10 rebounds. Nicole Smart (12) and Madi Buck (10) also scored in double figures for the Sioux.
Creighton had not won its first road game of the year since 1999 (after opening at home) and had not won a true road game to open the season since winning at Wyoming in 1998. The Jays had been 0-9 in their first road game of the season under Flanery before Friday night. The 171st win moves him alone into second place, ahead of the 170 won by his predecessor Connie Yori – all with him on the bench as an assistant.
The Bluejays look for their first 2-0 road start since 1995 when they play at North Dakota State (0-1) on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm.
Players Mentioned
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