UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Lauren Jensen led No. 23 Creighton with 19 points, easily propelling them past Seton Hall with a score of 73-44 in Sunday’s semifinals of the Big East Conference Tournament.
The Bluejays, seated second in the tournament, will seize the opportunity to challenge the No. 3 UConn Huskies in the championship game on Monday. Creighton is eager to rectify their two previous losses to UConn, which were by 11 and 19 points respectively.
Morgan Maly contributed 14 points for Creighton (27-5), successfully hitting a 3-pointer for the 51st game in a row. The team had previously staged an impressive comeback from 12 points down to secure a victory over Georgetown in the quarterfinals, which now leads them to their first title game appearance since 2016. Kennedy Townsend managed to add 10 points, while Jensen achieved a milestone by climbing to third place on Creighton’s all-time career scoring list with 2,029 points.
Faith Masonius stood out for the Pirates (22-9) with 16 points, while Jada Eads chipped in 11 points.
Creighton demonstrated their dominance early on, sinking five out of seven 3-pointers in the first quarter, with Jensen contributing two of those and scoring 10 points in the quarter, allowing the Bluejays to surge ahead with a 23-6 lead. The Pirates struggled, hitting only three out of 13 attempts and committing four turnovers. They managed to cut into Creighton’s lead, narrowing the deficit to 33-22 by halftime after a more disciplined performance in the second quarter, holding Creighton to 4 of 13 shooting with six turnovers.
Creighton’s long-range accuracy stood at 7 of 13, alongside a 6 of 14 success rate inside the arc. The Bluejays maintained their shooting efficiency in the second half, registering a 57% field goal shooting rate. A dominant 19-4 run to initiate the fourth quarter saw Creighton’s advantage expand to 30 points.
When the game concluded, Creighton had hit 12 of 23 tries from beyond the arc, along with 17 of 32 attempts from closer ranges. Seton Hall, conversely, managed a 28% shooting performance overall and failed to capitalize on their long-range opportunities, going 3 of 18 from 3-point territory.
