BOX SCORE

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball led by as many as 16 over visiting Creighton Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center, but the Bluejays used a second-half rally and a school-record tying 16 three-pointers to top the Purple Aces, 70-63, in Missouri Valley Conference action.
 
Sophomore Mallory Ladd led Evansville (3-10, 1-1 MVC) with her fourth-consecutive double-double, as she finished with a career-high 25 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.  The Evansville native finished 6-for-12 from the floor and was a perfect 11-for-11 at the free throw line.  Redshirt sophomore Khristian Hart was the only other Ace to finish in double figures, adding 10 points in the loss.
 
The two squads combined to attempt 62 shots from long distance, as CU finished 16-for-37 from three-point land (43.2%) and Evansville connected on 8 of its 25 tries (32.0%).  However, the difference was in the second half, where the Bluejays buried seven triples, while the Aces were just 1-for-13.
 
The Aces found their mark early and often from behind the three-point line and used hot shooting to open up an 18-2 lead to start the game.  Sophomore Kat Taylor highlighted the run by hitting back-to-back treys that put UE up 16-2 and forced a Creighton timeout at the 14:31 mark.
 
Evansville’s post players held the Bluejays without a rebound until the 12:56 mark, as the Aces collected the first nine.  In addition the UE defense held CU without a field goal for over six minutes, until Marissa Janning ending Creighton’s drought with a three that cut Evansville’s lead to 18-6 with 12:23 remaining in the half.
 
Janning’s triple sparked the Bluejay offense, as CU used a 16-2 run to trim UE’s lead to 20-18 with 8:51 to play in the opening stanza.  Janning and Sarah Nelson capped the run with a pair of buckets from long range.
 
Creighton’s defense then proceeded to hold the Aces without a field goal for over eight minutes, until senior Chelsea Falkenstein broke through with a driving layup that started a 7-0 run by Evansville, as UE pushed its lead back to 31-23 on a pair of Ladd three throws at the 3:11 mark in the first period.
 
The Bluejays got within two at 36-34 on a three by Ally Jensen late in the half, but Ware answered with a three of her own just before the halftime horn to put Evansville in front 39-34 heading into the locker room.
 
The Aces outrebounded CU, 22-9, over the first 20 minutes and shot 47.8 percent from the field (11-for-23), including a 58.3 percent clip from beyond the arc (7-for-12).  Creighton knocked down nine treys of its own and shot 42.9 percent from three-point land in the first half (9-for-21).
 
The Bluejays started the second half with the hot hand, as they quickly overcame Evansville’s five-point lead and took a 14-point lead with a 21-2 run out of the break.  Janning capped the run with a three, one of her four on the afternoon, to give CU a 55-41 lead with 11:05 left in the contest.
 
Sophomore Juliann Miller made a driving layup to finally bring an end to Creighton’s run, making the score 55-43 in favor of the Bluejays at the 10:31 mark.
 
The Aces slowly began to chip away at CU’s margin and cut it to single digits at 59-50, when senior Samantha Heck drained a three-pointer from the top of the arc with just over five minutes to go.
 
UE made a late push, as senior Meagan Collins made back-to-back layups in the final 30 seconds to cut Creighton’s lead to just five, but the Bluejays sealed the victory by knocking down their free throws down the stretch.
 
Janning finished with 22 points to lead CU and Jensen notched all 18 of her points on six three pointers, as the pair was the only two Creighton players to finish in double figures.
 
Evansville outrebounded the Bluejays, 43-31, but Creighton was able to take advantage of the Aces’ 19 turnovers, converting them into 33 points.  CU also got 29 from its bench, which included Janning’s 22.
 
UE will be back on the hardwood next Sunday, Jan. 13, when it hosts Southern Illinois at 1 p.m.