The Wichita State University women’s basketball team left D.J. Sokol Arena Thursday night in a state of shock.

Creighton handed Wichita State its second conference loss of the season in a tense 61-59 victory before an electric home crowd.  The key to the Bluejay victory was improving in several categories that led to Creighton’s 65-58 road loss to Wichita State on Jan. 8.

First, the Bluejays out rebounded Wichita State the second go-around by a 47-22 margin.

“We killed them on the glass,” Creighton head coach Jim Flanery said.

Second, Creighton pulled the cord on Shocker junior guard Jessica Diamond’s offensive power, not allowing the Shockers’ leading scorer to make a single shot all night.

Finally, the Jays were able to knock down free throws when the team needed them most at the end of the game, shooting 79 percent on free throws compared to their 60 percent effort in the Jan. 8 loss.

Flanery said free throws were not only key to this victory but also a major factor in Creighton’s loss at Wichita State at the beginning of the conference schedule.

“I liked that we made free throws,” Flanery said. “One of the reasons we lost down [in Wichita] was we were 12-20 from the line and missed three or four one-and-ones.  Really that game we lost by seven was as much about free throw shooting as anything.  Today we were good [shooting free throws] and that was crucial.”

The most important free throws of the night came from freshman forward Taylor Johnson.  With seven seconds remaining in the game, Johnson stroked two clutch shots from the charity stripe to put the Jays ahead by four points and the game out of the Shockers’ reach.

“I was so nervous,” Johnson said.  “I had to stay focused and not worry about missing it too much.  I had to do what I had to do.”

“Taylor missed some [3-pointers], but she finished some shots around the basket and stuffed those two big free throws,” Flanery said.

Johnson scored a total of 12 points on the night, including a key go-ahead layup with 1:38 remaining in the second half.

The leading scorer for the Jays on the night was sophomore guard Carli Tritz.  Tritz finished with 15 total points, shooting 7-7 from the free throw line.

With their fifth straight conference home win, the Bluejays improve to 12-9 on the season and 6-4 in conference play.

“We just have to come to practice tomorrow, focus and just come to win again,” Johnson said.