No. 21 Creighton women defeat Villanova behind Maly's 24 points, 13 rebounds

VILLANOVA, Pa. -- — Morgan Maly had 24 points and 13 rebounds, Emma Ronsiek scored 19 points and No. 21 Creighton defeated Villanova 63-49 on Sunday, snapping the Wildcats' five-game Big East Conference winning streak.

Creighton led 43-32 through three quarters. The teams traded baskets for much of the fourth quarter until a 3-pointer by Lauren Jensen gave the Bluejays a 14-point lead with less than three minutes remaining. A couple of minutes later, Jensen's layup put Creighton up 61-45 entering the final minute.

Creighton's Big Three of Jensen, Maly and Ronsiek combined for 55 of the Bluejays' 63 points. The Bluejays' only bench points came on a last-minute layup by Kennedy Townsend.

Maly's 24 points came on 7-of-18 shooting, with 3 of 9 3-pointers, plus 7 for 7 from the free-throw line. In addition to her 19 points, Ronsiek had five rebounds, five assists, four steals and a couple of blocked shots. Jensen, whose playing time was cut back due to foul trouble, scored 12 points.

Lucy Olsen scored 29 points on 12-for-29 shooting for Villanova (12-6, 5-2 Big East) but she got little scoring help from her teammates in the second half when she scored 17 of Villanova's 25 points.

The Bluejays (14-3, 5-2) won their fourth consecutive game and created a three-way tie for second place between themselves, Villanova and St. John's. No. 9 UConn leads with an 8-0 record.

Villanova plays at Providence on Wednesday and Creighton goes to Georgetown, also on Wednesday.

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