Box Score: Creighton 63, Indiana State 48

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DaNae Moore’s teammates paid attention to the message she delivered before Creighton’s 63-48 win against Indiana State on Sunday.

Moore reminded the Bluejays that they hadn’t lost a Senior Day game in a long time. As the team’s only senior, Moore didn’t want to say her thank-yous amid the gloom of defeat.

“We didn’t want to send her out on a bad note,” forward Sarah Nelson said. “You get so close to your teammates that you don’t want anything bad to happen.

“It means so much to get the win for her. Giving that speech after a win has to feel so much better than if we would have had a loss.”

Nelson did her part, recording her 10th double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Carli Tritz led the Bluejays with 18 points, and every Bluejay who played scored as Creighton won its third straight in front of 927 fans at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Creighton improved to 15-11 and 9-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference with three regular-season games left. Indiana State dropped to 12-14 and 6-8.

The Bluejays were coming off an emotional win Friday night against Illinois State, which had been tied for first in the Valley. Sunday’s effort was more workmanlike than flashy, but Creighton got the job done with its scoring balance, a defense that limited Indiana State to 31.5 percent shooting and a second-half crashing of the boards.

The Sycamores trailed 29-25 at halftime but held a 26-14 rebounding advantage that helped produce a 5-0 edge in second-chance points. Creighton coach Jim Flanery made sure he pointed that out to his team at the break.

“We’re playing 11 people and we’re playing them fewer minutes and we didn’t make an effort to go to the glass,” Flanery said. “I asked them if we were tired because I could look at their minutes compared to ours and tell you why we should be less tired. We needed to commit to the tough things like rebounding.”

Creighton came out and outrebounded the Sycamores 22-12 in the second half. The Bluejays opened the half with a 14-6 spurt to take a 43-31 advantage, and Indiana State never got closer the rest of the game.

“We did some good things, and sometimes Senior Days are hard,” Flanery said. “It’s not a matter of emotion but of focus. We weren’t as good as I wanted to be, but we still got through with a win.

“We’ve struggled to put two good games together on a weekend. We did enough things to keep them at bay, but I’m not going to jump up and down by the way we played.”

The Bluejays wrapped up the win, then turned things over to Moore, who had two points, three rebounds, a steal and an assist in her final regular-season appearance on her home court.

“This has been more than just basketball for me,” said Moore, respected by her teammates as a player who excels in doing the “little” things. “It’s been about the academics and everything that goes into being a student-athlete here. And the friends that I’ve made. That’s going to last a lifetime.”

Her only regret? With time running out, Creighton called a play for Moore to give her one last chance to score. Unfortunately, a foul was called and teammate Sammy Jensen went to the foul line. Flanery then substituted for Moore, who left to a standing ovation.

“That might have been the only play we’ve ever run for me,” said Moore, laughing. “I guess we forgot to tell the refs not to call a foul on that one.”

Contact the writer:
402-679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com
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