EVANSVILLE, Ind.—When its three-point shots weren’t falling on Thursday afternoon, league-leading Creighton turned to its defense to lead the way, and it helped power the visiting Bluejays to a 63-37 victory over the University of Evansville Purple Aces in front of the 10th-largest crowd in UE women’s basketball history at Roberts Stadium in Evansville.

 

Creighton held Evansville to a season-low 37 points on just 25.5 percent shooting from the floor and forced the Purple Aces into 22 turnovers which resulted in a 24-6 edge in points off of turnovers for the Bluejays. The defensive effort helped Creighton overcome a sluggish afternoon from three-point range, as the Bluejays shot just 16.0 percent from beyond the arc (4-of-25) after entering the contest ranked among the nation’s best in both three-point field goals per game (7th-8.5 per game) and three-point accuracy (34th-36.9 percent).

 

“I thought that we did a good job defensively of limiting their three-point attack, as not too many teams are going to be able to hold them to just four three-point makes and 16.0 percent shooting from the floor from the perimeter,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy. “But, offensively, I felt like we forced a lot of bad shots today and didn’t take some of the open looks that we had, which was very frustrating. We need to play with the same type of intensity on both ends of the court.

 

“Creighton showed why they are in first place in this league though today. When one thing wasn’t working for them, they were able to rely on other parts of their game to come out victorious. Today, their three-point shot wasn’t falling, but they did other things to be successful. Defensively, they did a great job of jumping the passing lanes and creating steals that led to some easy transition baskets for them.”

 

Creighton led throughout, jumping to an early 11-2 lead, as junior forward Sam Schuett ignited the offense with five early points. Evansville would trim the deficit back to just five points, 13-8, on a three-point field goal by junior forward Stephanie Bamberger with 10:25 to play before halftime, but the Bluejays would score the game’s next 10 points to build a 15-point cushion, 23-8, on a lay-up by reserve forward Kelsey Crites with 5:51 left. Evansville would not get within 11 points the rest of the way.

 

Junior center Kellie Nelson led a pack of three Bluejay players in double-figures with a career-high 19 points, the second time in her Creighton career in which she has posted a career scoring high against UE. Schuett also added a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double, while pacing Creighton’s defensive effort with a game-high seven steals. Junior sharpshooter Kelsey Woodard joined them in double-figures with 10 points.

 

For Evansville, reserve freshman forward Samantha Heck led the way with eight points in nine minutes of action, while fellow rookie forward Meagan Collins and sophomore forward Chelsea Falkenstein each added six points.

 

The game was played in front of a crowd of 2,353 screaming school children, who came to the game as part of the Future Purple Aces Fast B.R.E.A.K. (Basketball Reinforcing Education to Area Kids) program. The program helps young kids apply the subject of math to real-life situations using the game of basketball.

 

With the victory, Creighton remains atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 9-5 overall record and 4-1 conference mark. Evansville, meanwhile, falls to 3-12 overall and 0-4 in the MVC. The Purple Aces will return home on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. to host the Drake University Bulldogs at Roberts Stadium. Saturday’s game can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.