The Creighton women’s basketball team rode its usual scoring threats en route to a 65-62 victory over No. 22 St. John’s at D.J. Sokol Arena on Sunday.
Sophomore guard Marissa Janning, senior forward Sarah Nelson and senior guard McKenzie Fujan combined for 80 percent of the Bluejays’ scoring in the win.
Creighton remained in third place in the Big East Conference with the victory. The Jays are 17-10 overall and 11-4 in conference play.
The Red Storm dropped to 19-7 on the season and 12-3 in conference. They are now tied with DePaul for first place in the Big East.
The Bluejays opened the contest with an 18-6 run and immediately took control. The stretch was highlighted by Janning attacking the hoop and capped off with eight straight points by Nelson, including the game’s first 3-pointer.
Janning’s aggressiveness at the rim was all part of Creighton’s game plan to face St. John’s.
“They lead the Big East by a wide margin in 3-point field goal defense, and they’re going to play us as a 3-point-shooting team,” head coach Jim Flanery said. “We told them that.”
The Creighton lead would hover around 12 for much of the first half. Whenever St. John’s would make a run, Janning would answer with one of her own. The Bluejays went into the half with a 35-23 edge over the Red Storm.
Creighton came out of the break firing and stretched its lead to 50-30 on a Janning 3-pointer with 11:57 remaining. Facing the 20-point deficit, the Red Storm upped their defensive pressure with a full-court press.
Janning noted how the press affected the game.
“I think they kind of did change the pace of the game, kind of got up and made us get sped up, and that’s what happened,” Janning said.
The tactic worked, and St. John’s found itself only trailing 58-51 with just under two minutes remaining. Those final minutes were a mixture of free throws and frantic 3-point attempts, including one that fell at the buzzer. In the end, the Red Storm ran out of time and the Bluejays held on for a 65-62 victory.
Flanery attributed St. John’s push to earlier events.
“We had too many fouls early in the half, which put them in the bonus,” Flanery said. “Now they’re in ‘drive the ball’ mode, so it was more about what we were doing defensively.”
Janning finished with a game-high 24 points. Nelson added 15 of her own on 4-7 shooting. Fujan rounded out the top Creighton scorers with 13 points.
Sophomore guard Aliyyah Handford was the only St. John’s player in double-figures with 14 points.
Creighton’s next game is Wednesday, when they host Seton Hall at 7:05 p.m. at D.J. Sokol Arena.