EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Creighton junior guard Chevelle Herring’s old-fashioned three-point play with 46 seconds to play helped the visiting Bluejays rally for a 50-47 victory over the University of Evansville Purple Aces Saturday at Roberts Stadium in Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball action.

 

After Evansville had rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to grab a 47-45 lead with 2:11 to play, Herring worked a continuation lay-up and free throw with 46 seconds left as the centerpiece of a game-ending 5-0 run by the Bluejays to extend Creighton’s winning streak to four games in a row. 

 

Evansville had two chances to tie the game at 49 after Herring’s three-point play, but UE missed three shots in the lane on back-to-back possessions, and had a turnover with five seconds to play to seal the Purple Aces’ fate and even Evansville’s overall record at 8-8 and 1-4 in the MVC.

 

“While Herring’s three-point play was a key play down the stretch, it was not the play that won or lost the game for us tonight,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy. “Plain and simple, we need to shoot the ball better to win.

 

“I was extremely proud of our defensive effort tonight, and I thought that the team did a great job of executing what we wanted to do defensively. But, offensively, we could not hit any shots, and in the end, that is what killed us.”

 

Evansville held Creighton, which entered the game ranked fourth nationally in three-point accuracy, to just 23.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc on 4-of-17 shooting from long range. However, the Purple Aces shot just 24.5 percent from the field (13-for-53) and 27.3 percent from three-point range (3-for-11) for the game. 

 

UE opened the contest shooting just 17.2 percent in the first half on 5-of-29 shooting from the floor, but the Purple Aces trailed by just eight points at the break, 27-19, on the strength of 7-for-10 shooting from the free throw line and eight Creighton turnovers.

 

Evansville opened the second half strong offensively, shooting 46.2 percent from the floor through the first 10 minutes, but the Purple Aces would find themselves down 10 points, 42-32, with 10:40 to play, as the Bluejays answered UE shot for shot, shooting 42.9 percent from the floor with a pair of three-point baskets.

 

Both teams would go cold from the field over the next eight minutes, but the Purple Aces would work their way to the line to trim into the Creighton lead. UE would go 9-of-11 from the foul line during a 15-3 run which would give the Purple Aces a 47-45 lead with 2:11 to play on a lay-up by senior center Shannon Novosel. Creighton junior forward Megan Neuvirth would go 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to trim the UE lead to 47-46 with 1:49 to play, before Herring’s three-point play a minute later would give the Bluejays the lead for good.

 

Neuvirth led all scorers with 16 points for Creighton, while Herring added 10 points. Senior guard Ashley Austin recorded her fifth consecutive double-figure game with 12 points to lead UE, while both Novosel and junior guard Amy Gallagher scored 10 points each for UE. Novosel also added seven rebounds.

 

With the victory, Creighton improves to 9-8 overall and 4-2 in the Valley, while Evansville slips to 8-8 overall and 1-4 in the MVC. The Purple Aces will now hit the road on Thursday to travel to defending MVC Tournament champion Illinois State for a 7:05 p.m. contest. Thursday’s game can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.