The Creighton women’s basketball team collected two wins this past weekend with victories over the  University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University.

The Bluejays are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 1995.

Sophomore forward Sarah Nelson tied her career high with 17 points to lead the Bluejays to a 72-54 victory over the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.  Junior guard Ally Jensen and sophomore guard Carli Tritz added 13 points and 10 points respectively.

The Jays held a close six-point lead heading into halftime, but with solid bench play and a 21-11 rebounding advantage in the second half, the Jays pulled ahead and never looked back.

In another note, the victory over the Fighting Sioux marked win number 171 for head coach Jim Flanery, making him the second-winningest coach in Creighton women’s basketball history behind Bruce Rasmussen (196).

In Sunday’s game against North Dakota State, the Bluejays fell behind 10-2 in the first six minutes of the game.  The Jays soon found their mojo and recaptured the lead with a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jordan Garrison at the 5:37 mark in the first half.

Beginning the second half with a four-point lead, the Bluejays stayed on a roll, holding the Bison of North Dakota State to 5-25 shooting in the second half.

Leading the women’s basketball team once again was Nelson with a double-double.  The leading scorers for the Jays were Jensen and freshman forward Alexis Akin-Otiko with 16 points each.

With her stellar play over the weekend, Nelson earned the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors.

Unfortunately, the Jays’ streak was snapped on Wednesday in a tough loss to the University of Kansas Jayhawks.  Kansas’ balance attack was just too much for the Jays as four of KU’s starters reached double figures in points. However, Tritz had her best game of the season with 23 points and 3 rebounds in the 73-59 loss. Nelson continued her excellent play by chipping in 11 points and 5 rebounds.

The Bluejays return home for contests against the University of South Dakota on Tuesday and North Carolina State University on Sunday.