• Box Score: Missouri State 63, Creighton 55
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The snowy conditions were outside, but Creighton’s offense was stuck spinning its wheels inside D.J. Sokol Arena in a 63-55 women’s basketball loss to Missouri State in front of 651 on Saturday.
Creighton turned the ball over 10 times in the opening half, leading to 14 Missouri State points. The Bluejays finished the game just 22 of 62 from the field and shot 4 for 20 from 3-point range.
“It’s simple: We didn’t play like we should’ve been playing,” Creighton guard Carli Tritz said. “That’s not Creighton basketball.”
The Lady Bears (15-6, 8-3) took advantage of Creighton’s offensive struggles and flaunted their high-powered offense with a 14-0 run to grab an 11-point lead midway through the first half — a lead they wouldn’t relinquish throughout the final 35 minutes.
“It was a disappointing first half,” Creighton coach Jim Flanery said. “I just thought (Missouri State) played harder and with more focus in the first half.”
The Bluejays (12-10, 6-5) shot 5 for 7 from the field to begin the game in hopes of extending their home winning streak to six games, but their offense soon went stagnant, converting 5 of 22 attempts in the last 15 minutes of the half.
Reigning Missouri Valley player of the year Casey Garrison did most of her damage early for the Lady Bears, answering Creighton’s rallies with a bucket or an assist as Missouri State claimed a 36-27 halftime lead. Garrison scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half.
But it was Missouri State guard Karly Buer who did the real damage. The sophomore, who averages 6.4 points per game, buried the Jays with a game-high 20 points, including a 3-pointer that pushed the MSU lead to 14 points late in the second half.
Missouri State coach Nyla Milleson said Buer has stepped up as an additional scorer the Lady Bears have needed.
“Karly’s playing very well lately,” she said. “She’s our difference-maker right now.”
Flanery said her scoring outburst wasn’t a surprise.
“She wasn’t the focus that some other kids were, but we talked about her and about how well she’s been playing,” he said. “She had 25 last weekend and she had 16 the other night against Drake, so she’s played well.
“We didn’t do a good job of staying in front of her, and we let her play to her strengths.”
Buer finished with 11 second-half points, which were needed to combat the Bluejays’ markedly better offense in the second half.
Tritz provided interior penetration in the final 20 minutes, and finished with 14 second-half points and eight rebounds.
She found teammates for open looks, but Creighton had trouble buying a basket despite better execution, and the Jays failed to close within six points after halftime. Sarah Nelson, Taylor Johnson and Tritz were the only Creighton players with more than a single field goal.
Flanery said his team isn’t talented enough to come back from a sloppy first half without proficient shooting.
“We need to get the ball inside more and we need to attack the basket more,” Flanery said. “Many games we have become too reliant on the 3 and today was probably one of them, especially when they’re not going in.”
Tritz led Creighton with 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Nelson chipped in her seventh double-double of the season, with 16 points and 10 boards, and Johnson scored all eight of her points in the first half.
Tritz said the loss was more about Creighton playing poorly than getting beat by Missouri State
“We let ourselves down,” Tritz said. “I don’t think we necessarily got beat, but we lost the game. We gave it to them.
“We let them play the way they wanted to in the first half. In the second half, it was a little too late.”
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