OMAHA, Neb.—Creighton University junior guard Chevelle Herring paced a trio of Bluejays in double-figures with 21 points on Thursday night to power the Bluejays to their 10th consecutive victory with a 68-57 win over the visiting University of Evansville Purple Aces at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska.

 

Herring went 8-of-16 from the field and connected on five of Creighton’s eight three-pointers en route to her sixth 20-point scoring game of the season. She also dished out five assists, grabbed four rebounds, and swiped three steals in 38 minutes of action.

 

Herring helped ignite the Bluejay offense in the first half, as she keyed a 10-0 Creighton run which gave the Bluejays a lead they would never lose with a three-pointer and three assists to help account for all 10 points and give CU a 25-16 lead with 6:43 to play. 

 

Evansville would trim the lead back to four points, 31-27 at the start of the second half on a lay-up by senior forward Robyn Jennings on UE’s first offensive possession of the half. But, Creighton would open the second half hitting five of its first seven shots of the second half to build a 44-30 lead on a lay-up by reserve forward Kellie Nelson just three minutes and 45 seconds into the second half. The lead would remain in double-digits for the rest of the contest.

 

“Those two runs really hurt us tonight,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy. “We started out extremely well, but that run on the first half got us on our heels. I felt like we did a good job of getting back to within four points at the start of the second half, but then Creighton comes out on fire and before you know it, the lead is double-figures. That is the type of team Creighton is though. When they get hot, they can put points up in a hurry.”

 

Herring was joined in double-figures by senior center Kristina Voss and junior guard Kelsey Crites, who both pitched in 10 points each. Junior forward Megan Neuvirth, the current Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, also added nine points and 15 rebounds.

 

Jennings paced Evansville with 13 points off of the bench, including nine after halftime. Fellow senior Shannon Novosel pitched in 12 points, while junior guard Amy Gallagher added seven points in her return to Nebraska, as a Neligh, Nebraska native. Senior guard Ashley Austin dished out a career-high 10 assists and freshman forward Eva Benson, a native of Overton, Nebraska, grabbed a team- and career-high eight rebounds in a return to her home state.

 

With the victory, Creighton records its 10th victory in a row for the first time since the 2001-02 season and improves to 15-8 overall and 10-2 in the MVC. Evansville, meanwhile, slips to 9-14 overall and 2-10 in the Valley.

 

The Purple Aces will now travel on to Des Moines, Iowa to battle the Drake University Bulldogs (15-8, 9-3 MVC) in a game that can be seen live across the country on ESPNU. It will mark UE’s first-ever national television appearance in the sport of women’s basketball. The game can also be heard live on-line on an internet only basis on www.gopurpleaces.com.  Tip-off is set for 2:05 p.m.