• Box score: Creighton 72, Bradley 68

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Carli Tritz did some Sunday afternoon lobbying for a teammate after Creighton's 72-68 Missouri Valley Conference victory against Bradley.

“DaNae Moore, player of the week,” Tritz said. “I don't know if she'll get it but she has my vote for sure.”

Moore scored a career-high 12 points in Sunday's victory in front of 1,001 at D.J. Sokol Arena. The senior, who was averaging 3.8 points per game, had tied her career high with 11 points in Friday's victory over Northern Iowa.

Moore also had 13 rebounds — including nine against Bradley — two assists and four steals in the two games. She also turned in another strong effort on the defensive end, where she has made her mark the past four seasons.

“We know DaNae is always going to guard, she's always going to box out, she's always going to crash the boards,” Tritz said. “The last couple of games, she's been making that wide-open jumper that we need because someone else is getting double-teamed.

“Or she puts it back on an offensive rebound or she'll make a drive. She's giving us plays that are keeping us going and getting the crowd into the games. It's a little out of her element but she's getting everyone pumped up. These last two games are a reflection of how hard she is working.”

The Bluejays also got a big contribution Sunday out of Tritz, who also established her career high in a 25-point performance. She made 10 of 16 shots from the field and sealed the victory with three free throws in the final 18 seconds after Bradley had cut a 13-point deficit to two.

The win was Creighton's fifth in six games and improved the Bluejays to 5-4 in the league and 11-9 overall. Creighton is tied with Drake for fifth place but is just a game out of second. Up next for the Bluejays are a Thursday game against league-leading Wichita State and a Saturday meeting with Missouri State, which is one of three teams tied for second.

“Winning these two home games really helps give a young team like ours some confidence,” Moore said. “This game against Bradley was really important because we if we had lost, it would have wasted the win we got over Northern Iowa.

“We feel that we still have a chance to be in this at the end, but to have that chance, we needed to get these two wins.”

After scoring more than 10 points once in her first 114 games as a Bluejay, Moore now has back-to-back, double-figure scoring games.

“It's nice to score but I've always been happy to be a contributor on the defensive end,” Moore said. “My teammates know they can count on me to play defense every game.”

The victory was Creighton coach Jim Flanery's 110th Valley win, the most in program history. That milestone didn't mean as much as seeing his team make another step forward from its 0-3 start to league play.

“We have two big ones coming up,” Flanery said. “After winning five of our last six, I would hope our kids will be confident and motivated. We still fall short in some areas but they've shown a willingness to work through the tough times.

“To go from 0-3 to 5-4 is a credit to how they've practiced and kept their heads up.”

Contact the writer:

402-679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

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