OMAHA, Neb. ? Trailing Creighton, 58-53 with just over eight minutes left, Indiana State committed its 22nd turnover of the game just before the next to last media timeout of the game. ISU would turn the ball over just once more over the stretch run, as the Sycamores finished the game on a 16-6 spurt to down the ?Jays, 69-64, at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
ISU improves to 18-10, 11-6 MVC while Creighton falls to 11-17, 8-9 MVC.
A free throw by Sam Schuette gave Creighton the 58-53 lead with just over eight minutes to go when Angela Phillips tossed the ball out of bounds with 7:37 left.
Following the media timeout and a traveling violation on Creighton's Michelle Kaus, sophomore guard Leah Phillips drilled a deep 3-pointer from the right wing to make it 58-56 with 6:36 left. Following a Schuette turnover, senior Rachel Maenpaa tied the score for the third time, 58-58, with just over six minutes left.
After junior Laura Rudolphi tied the score at 60 on a jump shot, she gave ISU the lead on her next possession with a pair of free throws for the 62-60 advantage.
The run continued with another free throw by Rudolphi and a jumper by Maenpaa for the 65-60 lead and just under three minutes remaining.
Creighton got as close as three points, 67-64 with 44 seconds left. Maenpaa was whistled for a travel with 19.7 seconds on the clock. It was ISU's only turnover in the final eight minutes of the game, after committing 22 in the contest's first 32 minutes.
One final possession by the Bluejays came up empty, a 3-point attempt by Tyrai Bronson with 12 seconds left, but sophomore Kara Schilli came down with the defensive rebounds. After a foul, Angela Phillips drilled the two remaining charity tosses to the 69-64 victory.
ISU came out like a ball of fire in the game's first six minutes, jumping on the Bluejays 18-7 with 13:40 left in the first half. ISU's game-opening run was spurred by the freshman Kelsey Luna, who drilled a pair of 3-pointers in the opening stretch.
Creighton got back in the game as the game ticked toward the half, as Chevelle Herring's running jumper in the paint with five seconds left knotted the score of 32.
Indiana State won its sixth consecutive game with the 69-64 decision over Creighton. ISU as also out-rebounded each of those six victims, including the ?Jays, who were out-boarded by a 37-33 margin. In the first half, Creighton scored 12 second chance points on 10 offensive rebounds. It was a different story in the second half as ISU allowed just three offensive rebounds to the ?Jays, with no second chance points.
Luna paced the team with 14 points, on 4-of-7 shooting from behind the 3-point line. Rudolphi scored 11 points, while junior Angela Phillips added 13. Phillips hit six free throws in the final minute to cement the victory.
Freshman Megan Neuvirth led the Bluejays with 14 points. Herring added 12 while Kaus scored 11.
Indiana State currently stands third place in the Valley standings with one game remaining. ISU is one game behind Illinois State for second place. On the flip side, ISU is just one game ahead of both Evansville and Northern Iowa, who are tied for fourth.
The Sycamores wrap up the regular season at Drake on Saturday, March 3. Tip-off from the Knapp Center is set for 3:05 p.m. (ET).
