(gocreighton.com)
OMAHA, NEBRASKA – Led by 18 points off the bench by junior Myah Mellman – a Mason City High graduate – the Creighton women’s basketball team earned its first victory of the season, 80-77 over Drake.
The win lifted the Bluejays to 1-2 on the season, while the Bulldogs fell to 1-1 overall.
Creighton got out to a 6-2 lead in the opening moments on two layups from fifth year senior Brianna Rollerson and a pullup jumper from fellow senior Marissa Janning. Drake countered with an 8-0 run, capped by back-to-back three-pointers to grab a 10-6 edge. The Bluejays turned to their bench for a lift and sophomore Ali Greene and Mellman were ready. Greene drained consecutive jumpers to make it 10-10. After two Bulldog free throws, Mellman caught fire with back-to-back treys to give Creighton a 16-12 lead with 3:33 remaining in the opening period. By the end of the first quarter nothing was decided as the two teams entered the second tied at 18-18.
Drake opened the second with five straight to edge in front 23-18, Creighton countered with an 8-2 run on treys from junior Sydney Lamberty and Janning that surrounded a layup from Rollerson. The game remained within one bucket for much of the second quarter. Up 40-39 the Bluejays pushed ahead 43-39 with a three-pointer from senior MC McGrory and took a 45-42 lead into halftime.
McGrory started the scoring once again in the third period with another trey to push Creighton out to a 48-42 edge. Following a defensive stop, sophomore Audrey Faber joined the long distance plan with the Bluejays’ 11th three-pointer of the game to make it 51-42. The Bluejays pushed ahead by as much as 11 (60-49 with 3:59 left), but a late Bulldog surge sent the game to the fourth with the Bluejays clinging to a 65-60 advantage.
The two teams traded blows throughout the final period. Holding a 75-69 lead with 5:55 remaining, Creighton watched as the Bulldogs rattled off eight straight to seize the lead at 77-75 with 2:56 left. The Bluejays’ seniors, however, refused to be denied. Lauren works pulled her group even with a driving layup from the left corner, earning a three-point opportunity with a foul. Works knocked down the shot from the charity stripe to put Creighton back up one (78-77) with 1:22 left in the contest.
Creighton defense stiffened to deny Drake on three consecutive chances, but were unable to create any separation on offense. With just 5.9 seconds left, the Bulldogs held possession and used their final timeout. When play resumed Drake turned to scoring leader Lizzy Wendell, but Lamberty forced Wendell to her weak side (her right) and Rollerson came over to block the game-winning attempt. Janning picked up the rebound, then nailed two free throws with 0.1 seconds left to seal the Bluejays’ win.
Mellman led Creighton with a career-high 18 points on 6-of-7 from beyond the arc. Rollerson posted her second straight double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Faber finished with 12 points, while Janning was just one assist from a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Drake got 20 points from Caitlin Ingle, while Wendell contributed 19 points in the loss.
Creighton has a little time off before returning to the floor on Friday, Nov. 25 as Creighton battles No. 25 Missouri in the opener for both schools of the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas at 4:15 CT.
