After trailing at halftime, the No. 22 Creighton women’s basketball team erupted for a 26-point third quarter, fueling the Bluejays to a 75-65 victory over the Butler Bulldogs in Indianapolis on Sunday, Feb. 4.
Creighton came out hot to start the game, jumping out to a 12-4 lead at the halfway point of the first quarter. A late 7-0 run for Butler brought the game close, though, as Creighton held a slim 17-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Senior guard Lauren Jensen and senior forward Emma Ronsiek led the way for Creighton with six points apiece, while junior forward Sydney James tallied six for the Bulldogs.
Butler took over in the second quarter, as the Bulldogs caught fire from the field, shooting 53% from the floor and 75% from deep. Seven of the eight Butler players that played in the quarter found the bottom of the net, while Creighton was forced to play through Ronsiek and Jensen, who both totaled six again in the second.
The result was a 21-16 second-quarter edge for Butler, giving the Bulldogs a 37-33 edge at the break.
“We don’t need to overthink,” head coach Jim Flanery said his message was to his team at halftime. He emphasized that tactically, their gameplan was still intact despite the deficit.
That gameplan worked out of the half, as the rest of Creighton’s offense finally began to turn up the scoring in the third quarter, coming out of halftime with a 21-2 run to establish a 54-41 Bluejay lead. Butler hit a couple of threes late in the quarter, but the damage had been done, as Creighton dominated the quarter 26-13. The Jays led 59-50 headed into the fourth.
Creighton’s scorers outside of Jensen and Ronsiek finally showed up in the third, as six Bluejays scored in the quarter. They were led by senior forward Morgan Maly’s seven points.
The lead proved to be enough for Creighton, as Ronsiek took control for the final ten minutes, putting up eight points in the final quarter as Creighton closed out a 75-65 win.
Ronsiek was Creighton’s leading scorer on the day with 26 points to pair with nine Rebounds, while Jensen’s 19, combined with her performance at home against Marquette earlier in the week, earned the senior a spot on the Big East Honor Roll.
Creighton extended its win streak to eight games, improving to 18-3 on the season, 9-2 in conference play and 7-1 on the road. The Jays also jumped to No. 21 in the A.P. poll following the two-win week.
Creighton will return to action at Xavier in Cincinnati at 6 p.m. on Feb. 6 before returning home to play DePaul on Saturday, Feb. 10 at D.J. Sokol Arena.