Creighton Women Sneak Past Marquette 71-68

Omaha, Neb. -- Morgan Maly had 28 points on 10-of-11 shooting to lead the Creighton women's basketball team to a 71-68 win over visiting Marquette on Wednesday, January 8.

Creighton improved to 13-3 with the victory and is 5-0 in BIG EAST play for the second time in program history (also 2021-22). Marquette slipped to 10-5 on the season and is 2-2 in league action.

The Bluejays built itself a 37-26 halftime lead after getting hot from beyond the arc late in the second quarter.  Jayme Horan and Maly both made consecutive three-pointers, and Lauren Jensen made it five triples in a four-minute span when she buried a corner trey to cap a 17-8 run to close the half.

Maly led CU with 16 points in as many minutes before the break, making 6-of-7 shots. Lee Volker paced MU with 10 points in the first half. Creighton forced 15 Marquette turnovers in the first half, converting those into 21 points.

The three-ball proved to be key early in the third quarter as well, as back-to-back trifectas from Jensen and Maly helped CU take its largest lead at 45-30.  Despite the deficit Marquette stayed within shouting distance, making 10-of-15 shots in the third quarter to trim CU's lead to 58-50 after three quarters.

Creighton maintained its lead throughout the fourth quarter, but had to hold off a furious rally by the Golden Eagles. MU used a 6-0 run to claw within three points (71-68), then got the ball with 25 seconds left for a final shot while down three. MU guard Jaidynn Mason missed a three-pointer from the top of the key and Mallory Brake grabbed the defensive rebound for CU. Marquette still had multiple fouls to give, and CU ran out of the clock to earn the victory.

Maly made 8-of-9 three-pointers on the night, a career-high and tied for the third-most by a Bluejay in program history. Her 28 points were two shy of the fifth-year senior's career-high. Jensen finished in double-figures with 17 points and had six assists. CU made 45.6 percent of its shots for the game, including 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) from downtown.

Marquette was led by 19 points from Volker, while Mason finished with 18 points. The Golden Eagles shot 56 percent for the game, won the rebound battle 29-24, and outscored CU 38-12 in the paint.

Creighton returns to the court on Saturday at 11 a.m. Central when it visits Seton Hall (12-3, 4-0 BIG EAST) in a battle of BIG EAST unbeatens.

NOTES: Morgan Maly (299) passed Dayna Finch (294) for second place on Creighton's all-time three-pointers made list on a trifecta late in the second quarter ... Maly (691) also moved past Christy Neneman (685) for 10th on Creighton's all-time rebounding list ... Creighton's 21 points off turnovers before the break were a season-high for any half ... Creighton is now 19-14 all-time against Marquette, including a 13-2 mark in Omaha ...  ... Creighton became the first team to shoot 45 percent or better against Marquette this season.