Creighton University
21-6 (13-3MVC)
Drake
9-18 (4-12MVC)
Janning's 29 Leads Bluejays' WBB Past Drake, 67-66
3/3/2013 2:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. - Freshman Marissa
Janning broke her own arena record with 29 points to lead the Jays to a
67-66 win over Drake on Sunday, March 3.
With the win the Jays moved to 21-6 overall and 13-3 in the Missouri Valley
Conference (MVC). Drake, meanwhile, fell to 9-18 and 4-12 in Valley play.
Down 39-30 early in the second half, Janning took the game over with 23 of the Jays 37 points in the period. Janning began the climb back with a 12-footer from the left wing, igniting a 9-2 Creighton run.
Following a Bulldog bucket, senior Ally Jensen delivered a pull-up jumper just inside the paint to make it 41-34. After a Drake turnover, Janning made one-of-two from the charity stripe, then sophomore Alexis Akin-Otiko connected on a layup. One more defensive stop led to driving layup by Janning to pull the Jays within two at 41-39 with 15:33 remaining.
After three straight by the Bulldogs extended the deficit to 44-39, Janning drilled a three-ball from the right wing and tossed in another driving layup from the left to knot the game at 44-44.
The two teams battled back and forth of the next ten minutes, Drake clinging to a slim 60-59 edge with 3:28 remaining.
Creighton seized control behind a 6-0 run, courtesy of a layup from junior Sarah Nelson and two buckets by Janning, to take a 65-60 lead with 1:06 left. Moments later, Janning sealed the win with two free throws with 35 seconds remaining.
The opening period saw the Bluejays jump out to an early 9-3 lead on trifectas from Janning (two) and A. Jensen. Drake, however controlled the period, shooting 14-of-26 from the field (53%) to take a 37-30 lead into halftime.
Janning's 29 points is a career-high, eclipsing the D.J. Sokol Arena record for a Bluejay that she set with 26 points on Feb. 14. Junior McKenzie Fujan posted 11 points and tied a career-high with six assists.
Drake got 18 points from Kyndal Clark and a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds by Morgan Reid in the loss.
Creighton returns to the court on Thursday, March 7 as the Jays host Evansville at 7:05 p.m.
