Playing in the program’s first ever Elite Eight, the Creighton women’s basketball team ran into a wall facing the nation’s No. 1 overall seed South Carolina Gamecocks, losing 80-50 to conclude their season.
“South Carolina was a lot better than us tonight,” coach Jim Flanery said. “Physically we just didn’t match up.”
The Gamecocks set this physical tone from the very beginning, using their size and strength to bully the Jays on the inside. National Player of the Year front-runner Aliyah Boston had five of the team’s first twelve points as South Carolina opened the game on a 12-5 run.
Creighton’s motion offense did its part in creating open looks at the rim, but the Jays couldn’t convert the easy looks, digging themselves a 23-16 hole after one quarter.
“We missed some bunnies early because of the nerves, which really hurt us getting into the game,” senior guard Tatum Rembao said.
The relentless Gamecocks poured it on in the second quarter on both ends, stifling the Jays typically high-powered offense and extending their lead with inside-out offense that created high percentage looks.
“They did a really good job getting the ball into the center of the court and making us choose between their shooters and bigs,” Flanery said.
Creighton scored just nine points in the second quarter and had a four minute stretch without points, while South Carolina scored another 23 to push the score to 46-25 at the half.
The Gamecocks finished the half shooting 60% and dominated the Jays in the paint, scoring 30 points inside to Creighton’s 12.
Unlike Friday night’s upset in the Sweet 16 over Iowa State, Creighton didn’t find its rhythm coming out from half, as the number one team in the country’s poise and discipline showed. It continued to attack on the inside with Boston, who had 19 points after three quarters, shooting 7-for-9.
Friday night’s hero, sophomore Morgan Maly, couldn’t provide the spark either, even as she drilled a three during the fourth quarter. Sophomore Lauren Jensen led the way in scoring for the Jays with 12. Senior guard Rachel Saunders also turned in an impressive eight-point performance off the bench.
As the fourth ever double-digit seed to make it to the women’s Elite Eight, the loss ended a storybook run for Creighton that defied logic and at times had a surreal, magical feel to it.
This, according to Flanery, is not something this loss takes away from.
“We will flush tonight,” he said. “It may take some time, but we will focus on all the great things we did this year and the last ten days.”
And although the loss hurts, Jensen says that this experience playing the No. 1 team in the country will be valuable in the future as Creighton looks to continue building its program.
“We are going to let this loss sting for a while, but it will inspire us to get back into the gym soon and be ready for next year,” Jensen said.
The loss also concludes the careers of three Bluejay seniors in Rembao, guard Payton Brotzki, and guard Chloe Dworak.
“They have all meant so much to this program,” Flanery said. “I will miss them all.”
With its Cinderella run complete, Creighton will head into the offseason with a renewed hope and a cemented place in history.
“This season creates a legacy, and we have some really good things going forward,” Flanery said.