Maly matches career-high with 30 points and No. 22 Creighton women beat South Dakota in home opener

Nov 10, 2023, 02:30 pm

OMAHA, Neb. -- — Morgan Maly matched a career-high with 30 points, Emma Ronsiek added 16 points and No. 22 Creighton beat South Dakota 81-55 on Friday.

Creighton (2-0) won its second straight game in the series with South Dakota after losing six in a row.

Creighton scored 29 points in the first quarter, with five 3-pointers, to build a 15-point lead. The Bluejays led by as many as 20 points in the second quarter before South Dakota scored the opening five points of the second half to get within 45-35.

Creighton answered with a 19-2 run for a 64-37 lead. Maly started the run with seven straight Creighton points, and she also had two 3-pointers.

Maly, who also scored 30 points against Providence in January, was subbed out with 3:06 remaining in the fourth. Maly was 10 of 19 from the field and she also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Lauren Jensen had 11 points and a team-high six assists for Creighton. Molly Mogensen and Mallory Brake each scored 10 points. Mogensen also had nine rebounds.

Tori DePerry led South Dakota (1-1) with 13 points. Grace Larkins had nine points and 13 rebounds. DePaul transfer Kendall Holmes, who scored 14 points in an 85-57 season-opening win over Northern State, was held to six points on 2-of-8 shooting.

South Dakota was picked third in the Summit League preseason poll, just behind Creighton.

Creighton hosts Green Bay on Thursday. South Dakota plays Northern Colorado on Tuesday.

---- Get alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here ------ AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball