UCONN Runs Away From Creighton Women, 95-54

Omaha, Neb. – The Creighton Women's Basketball team struggled to find their rhythm, falling to No. 1 Connecticut 95-54 in front of the second largest crowd in program history (6,372) on Sunday afternoon at the CHI Health Center Omaha. 
 
The Huskies are now 17-0 on the year and 8-0 in BIG EAST play, while Creighton dropped to 7-10 overall and 3-5 in league action. 
 
A back-and-forth battle in the opening quarter saw the Bluejays take advantage of some early back cuts from Grace Boffeli and Kennedy Townsend to level the contest at 10-10 with 3:41 remaining. The Huskies countered with three layups of their own and a three from Ashlynn Shade to take a 21-14 advantage into the second period. 
 
Connecticut asserted themselves defensively in the second stanza, forcing 13 Creighton turnovers and outscoring the Bluejays 33-7 to take a 54-21 lead into the break. 
 
The Huskies blew the game open early in the third with an 8-0 run to take a 64-28 lead with 5:38 remaining in the period. UConn carried a 74-35 lead into the fourth and their advantage grew to as much as 51 (87-36) on a three from Shade with 5:29 left. Ava Zediker took over from there, scoring 14 of her game-high 24 points in the final five minutes to cut the final deficit to 95-54. 

Sarah Strong led the Huskies with 18 points, adding 13 rebounds and six assists. Blanca Quinonez added 15 points while Azzi Fudd (14 points, 5 assists) and Shade (12 points) also scored in double figures. The huskies shot 58.1 percent from the field and drained 11-of-26 three pointers, including 4-of-6 shooting from Shade. The Huskies also outscored the Bluejays 26-20 in points off of turnovers, 38-5 in bench points and 46-26 in points in the paint.
 
Ava Zediker posted a game-high 23 points with Townsend adding in 11 points of her own. The Bluejays finish the contest shooting 31.1 percent (19-of-61) from the field, including a 4-of-26 (15.4 percent) mark from three. The Jays did force a season-high 21 UConn turnovers but couched up 22 turnovers of their own. 

Creighton returns to the hardwood on Saturday, Jan. 17 as the Bluejays battled Providence at 12 p.m. in Rhode Island.