No. 16 Creighton women top Xavier 57-51 in Big East opener
CINCINNATI (AP) — Lauren Jensen hit a clutch 3-pointer and scored 18 points and she teamed with Morgan Maly to make six free throws in the final 30 seconds as No. 16 Creighton beat Xavier 57-51 on Friday in a slugfest Big East Conference opener.
Fernanda Ovalle scored four points in a 6-0 run that gave Xavier a 46-44 lead with 3:27 to play. Jayme Horan turned a turnover into a tying basket for Creighton with 2:08 to go and Emma Ronsiek's layup produced a lead with 1:29 left after a Xavier miss.
Taylor Smith hit a 3 for the Musketeers with 35 seconds to go but Creighton was clutch at the line. Maly, who finished with 16 points, made four.
Smith and Ovalle both scored 15 points for the Musketeers (5-1), who have lost 12 straight to the Bluejays and trail 16-2 in the series.
Creighton made just 4 of 24 from 3-point range and shot 33% but was 15 of 19 from the foul line. Xavier was 5 of 22 from distance but shot just 29%.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
