Creighton Pulls Away Late From Cowgirls in Omaha

Bluejays outscore UW by 13 in the final 10 minutes 

OMAHA, Neb. (Dec. 17, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowgirls fought hard all night on the road in a tough environment against a strong opponent in Creighton, but the Bluejays offense proved too strong down the stretch as they pulled away from Wyoming late for a 76-60 win. Creighton outscored the Cowgirls 25-12 in the fourth.

Wyoming got off to a fast start, scoring the first two baskets of the game and three of the first four overall. From there though, Creighton would hit three 3-pointers to take an 11-6 lead as early turnovers hurt the Cowgirls. That was the margin at the first media timeout as well. After the timeout, the Bluejay outside attack continued to connect as they held a 25-15 advantage after one. CU hit 5 first quarter 3-pointers.

The Cowgirls cut the deficit back down to single digits early in the second as they opened the quarter with back-to-back hoops. Creighton, much like it did to begin the game, would answer with strong offense and by forcing UW turnovers later in the frame. The Bluejays led 29-21 at the media. Out of the timeout, Malene Pedersen connected on back-to-back baskets to cut the CU lead down to 32-28. From there, Creighton would counter-punch with another pair of 3-pointers before the Cowgirls came right back with a second Pedersen three and a Tess Barnes driving layup to beat the buzzer as the Bluejay lead was down to just 38-35 at the break.

In the third, Wyoming would tie the game at 41-41 early in the frame. The Cowgirls had a few chances to reclaim the lead in the quarter, but turnovers continued to be costly for UW to begin the half. The Bluejays would slip back in front 46-41 right before the third quarter media timeout, but back-to-back layups from Allyson Fertig brought the score back to 46-45 with 3:32 left in the third.

Out of the media, Fertig tied things with a free throw to complete her three-point play. After that, UW was back out in front on a Fertig to Pedersen connection. The Bluejays would close things out in the third with consecutive hoops, however and took a 51-48 lead into the final 10 minutes.

Creighton would come out and take control in the fourth, scoring the first five points to push the lead out to 56-48. The two teams would trade layups after that, forcing a UW timeout with 8:24 left in the game. Out of the timeout, the Bluejays would lengthen the lead up to double digits as the Cowgirl offense couldn’t keep pace late. Wyoming would get it back to single digits a couple of times briefly, but CU would control the game’s final seven minutes.

Outside shooting proved to be a major factor, as the Bluejays hit 12-of-30 from beyond-the-arc while the Cowgirls went 4-for-16. Overall, Wyoming shot 47.3-percent from the field while Creighton was at 46.2-percent. The Bluejays enjoyed a big advantage in bench points (29-2) and second-chance points (10-2). The Cowgirls held a 40-28 edge in points in the paint.

Fertig led Wyoming with her fifth 20-point outing of the season as she finished with 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Barnes and Pedersen both closed the game with 16 points apiece and combined to shoot 14-for-24. Barnes, Emily Mellema and Ola Ustowska all tallied five assists to lead the team in the loss. Ustowska tied a career-high with nine rebounds to lead all players.

Next up, the Cowgirls will finally get to return home for the first time in a month. Wyoming welcomes North Dakota to Laramie for a 1 p.m., contest Saturday, December 21 to close the year 2024 and non-conference play.