Saunders Nears Triple-Double Guides Women’s Basketball in 83-74 Win Over DePaul – Creighton University Athletics

Omaha, Neb. , senior Rachel Saunders (Iowa City, Iowa) came just short of a triple-double to lead the Creighton women’s basketball team to an 83-74 win over DePaul on Wednesday, Feb. 1.

The win moved the Bluejays to 15–6 on the season and 9–4 in Big East action, while DePaul dropped to 11–11 overall and 4–7 in conference play.

Creighton got off to a fast start and the Bluejays jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first five minutes. junior Emma Roncic (Sioux Falls, SD) came to quick work with a trey, a layup and a pair of free throws, scoring seven of Creighton’s first 12 points. With just under two minutes remaining, Junior held a 19-11 lead. morgan gardener (Crete, Neb.) linked to long distance and junior molly mogensen ,Farmington, Minn.) hit one of two from the charity stripe to extend the Bluejays edge to 23-11 (0:56). Creighton took a 23–13 advantage in the second.

Opening second half, Creighton extends its lead to 17 at 32-15 (7:50), gets trey from Jr. Lauren Jensen (Lakeville, Minn.), Mogensen & Gardener. The Blue Demons closed back within striking distance at 42–36 (2:43) before halftime as DePaul hit seven of eight from the field, including five straight from beyond the arc. Creighton’s defense shut down in the final three minutes to send the Bluejays into the locker room with a 44–36 lead.

Creighton kept DePaul at arms length in the third quarter, expanding the lead late in the frame thanks to three-pointers from the junior jayme horan (Omaha, Neb.) and Jensen, taking a 64–52 lead in the fourth quarter.

The Bluejays’ advantage grew to 16 (79–63) late in the final frame (3:12), but DePaul closed the game on an 11–4 run to take the final 83–74.

Malley led Creighton with 21 points, while Jensen and Ronciak finished the contest with 19 and 16 points, respectively. Saunders finished the game with nine points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

DePaul’s Anissa Morrow led all scorers with 34 points, while Keke Rimmer and Jory Allen scored 12 and 10 points.

Creighton returns to the hardwood on Saturday, February 4 at 1:00 p.m. against St. John’s.