Lincoln - After struggling through a rough shooting night in the opener, the Nebraska women's basketball team bounced back in a big way by hitting nearly 55 percent of its shots while holding Creighton to less than 30 percent from the field to roll to a 84-50 victory over the Bluejays in front of 2,786 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Monday night.
The Huskers (1-1), who hit just 32 percent from the field against South Dakota State in their season opener, blazed the Bluejays (0-2) by shooting 54 percent for the game, including nearly 60 percent in the second half to run to a 34-point win, which tied for the second-largest victory margin in the 31-game series with Creighton.
Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said she was surprised by the Huskers' victory margin and pleased with the team's effort.
"I did not expect to win by 34 points," Yori said. "We were planning on this game to go right down to the wire and that has been the history of this series between Nebraska and Creighton. But tonight I think our team just played harder, and I think we outhustled them. This win certainly gives us some more confidence for the rest of our season."
True freshman Kelsey Griffin continued her strong start to the 2005-06 season by producing double figures for the second straight game with a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds. The 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska opened her career with 18 points and seven boards against SDSU on Saturday.
Griffin was joined in double figures by fellow Husker forwards Chelsea Aubry and Jessica Gerhart. Aubry, a 6-2 junior from Kitchener, Ontario, finished with 18 points and eight boards, while Gerhart added 14 points and eight boards of her own, as the Huskers dominated the glass, outrebounding CU, 42-31.
Nebraska's three starting forwards combined to hit 23-of-35 shots from the field to score 51 points, while pulling down 23 rebounds. Their strong play led NU to a 40-16 edge in points in the paint against the Jays.
Nebraska took control midway through the first half with an 11-0 run that started and ended with baskets from Aubry, who began the run with a three-pointer and ended it with a mid-range jumper to give the Huskers a 19-7 lead with just over eight minutes to play in the first half.
Aubry provided another highlight by burying her second three-pointer to give Nebraska its biggest lead of the first half at 34-17 with one minute left in the opening stanza.
Aubry, who did not score or attempt a shot in Nebraska's season opener against South Dakota State, ended the first half with 10 points and six rebounds, including two offensive boards to power the Huskers.
Griffin sparked a 12-0 run in the first 3:15 of the second half, and extended the lead to 29 points by scoring the next four points after Angie Janis ended NU's run by hitting 1-of-2 free throws.
Nebraska continued to roll after the run, pushing its lead to as large as 38 points at 78-40 with 5:58 left in the contest. First-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy managed eight points for the Huskers, while adding four assists with no turnovers. She also notched three steals for Nebraska, which finished the night with 15 steals.
Along with a plus-11 rebound margin, Nebraska produced a plus-nine turnover margin against CU, committing just 14 miscues, while forcing 23 Bluejay turnovers.
Creighton finished the game by hitting just 15-of-52 shots from the field for a 28.8 percent success rate. CU, which hit just 34 percent from the field in an opening-day loss at Northwestern on Saturday, managed just seven offensive boards after pulling down 26 offensive boards against the Wildcats.
The Bluejays hit just 6-of-24 three-pointers (25 percent), including four three-pointers from CU senior Kristi Woodard, who provided the lone bright spot for the Jays with 16 points. She also knocked the 100th three-pointer of her career.
Nebraska returns to action later this week, when the Huskers travel to Florida for the Miami Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 25-27 in Coconut Beach, Fla. The Huskers will square off the 2005 NCAA Final Four team and current No. 3 LSU on Friday at Noon, before playing 2005 WNIT second-round qualifier Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sunday at 11 a.m.