Creighton Women Fall To UCONN In Big East Championship

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- In a Top 25 battle for BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament championship, it was No. 3 Connecticut defeating No. 22 Creighton for the third time this season, 70-50, on Monday night inside a sold out and partisan crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The victory clinched Connecticut's 12th straight conference tournament title and 30th overall in program history. Creighton dropped to 26-6 on the season, with all six losses coming to teams in this week's Top 25, and four of those setbacks coming against teams in the top-three of the current poll.

Connecticut (31-3) controlled the first quarter, opening the game on an 11-0 run, and never trailed. Creighton guard Lauren Jensen had five of the next seven points to draw within four before UConn All-American Paige Bueckers went on a personal 8-0 run to precede a Bluejay timeout. The Huskies closed the opening quarter with a 27-11 lead after making 10-of-15 shots from the field and scoring nine points off seven Bluejay turnovers.

The Huskies uncorked another 8-0 run midway through the second quarter to claim a 35-15 lead, and UConn led 40-22 at the break. Jensen led CU with 10 points at the break while Bueckers and Azzi Fudd each had 11 for UConn.

UConn scored the first seven points of the second half to build a lead as large as 47-22 before Creighton countered and drew within 51-34 late in the third quarter and trailed 53-34 heading into the final period. Creighton drew within 14 (57-43) with 5:42 remaining after a three-ball by Kiani Lockett, only to have the Huskies score the next six points to all but lock up their 23rd conference BIG EAST Tournament title.

Jensen led Creighton with 13 points and seven rebounds and Morgan Maly added a dozen points of her own, but it wasn't enough to offset a Bluejay side that shot 35.8 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from three-point land.

Bueckers had her 17th game of the season with 20+ points, finishing with 24 points and eight rebounds to become the first player to win three BIG EAST Tournament MVP honors. Freshman sensation Sarah Strong had 13 points, 11 rebounds and six steals, while Fudd finished with 13 points.

Creighton will wait to hear its name called on Sunday at 7 p.m. when the NCAA Tournament field is unveiled on ESPN. The Bluejays are seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.