SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — The Creighton women’s basketball team completed its third consecutive regular-season sweep of rival Seton Hall on Tuesday night with a 77-64 victory over the Pirates inside Walsh Gymnasium.
The win, Creighton’s fifth in a row, improved the Bluejay record to 17-6 on the season and 11-4 in BIG EAST action. The Pirates dropped to 15-9 on the year and 8-6 in league play with just its second home loss in conference play this winter.
The Bluejays stormed out of the gates quickly, sinking their first six shots to race to a 17-6 lead. Emma Ronsiek scored CU’s first five points, Rachael Saunders the next eight and Lauren Jensen the next four, all within the first five minutes. But Seton Hall would counter following a technical foul on head coach Tony Bozzella, closing the quarter with a 13-4 surge to draw within 21-19 after 10 minutes.
Sidney Cooks sank back-to-back three-pointers to open the second quarter to give the Pirates their first lead of the evening at 25-21, capping a 14-0 run spanning the quarter break. The Bluejays wasted no time in delvering the knockout punch. A three-point play from Jensen and three-pointers by Ronsiek and Jensen quickly returned the Bluejay advantage to 33-29 midway through the second period. CU’s lead grew to 43-35 at the break and also saw Pirates star center Cooks pick up her third foul with 16.1 left in the period.
Jensen led Creighton with 12 points at the break while Ronsiek owned 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting. CU shot 58.3 percent before the break, including 7-of-11 marksmanship from three-point range. Seton Hall was led in the first half by 15 points from Cooks and 10 points, five assists and four rebounds by Lauren Park-Lane.
The Bluejays opened the second half just as well as the first, scoring on eight of their first nine possessions to extend its lead to 59-41. CU outscored the Pirates 18-11 in the third quarter and led 61-46 after three.
Creighton held off Seton Hall in the final quarter, with the lead lingering between 15 and 18 for the first six minutes before an 8-0 run by the hosts trimmed CU’s lead to 10 at 70-60. A three-ball from Saunders squashed the comeback as the Pirates never got any closer as Creighton closed out its second double-digit win of the season over the Pirate platoon.
Ronsiek made her first seven shots from the field and finished with 21 points. Jensen tallied 17 points and Saunders added 14. CU dominated the backboards, winning the rebound battle 36-21.
Cooks led the Pirates with 27 points and Park-Lane finished with 14 points and 10 assists for her second double-double of the season.
Creighton returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 12th at Noon when it hosts Xavier.
