BROOKINGS - Creighton erased a seven-point halftime deficit and pulled away in the second half to beat South Dakota State, 76-69, on Thursday in a first-round game from the Women's National Invitational Tournament.
Kelsey Woodard keyed the second-half run by the Bluejays (21-11), who will play Marquette in the second round on Monday. Woodard had 23 of her 29 points in the second half, which started with Creighton trailing 34-27.
SDSU (23-7) ran off five straight points at the end of the first half to take a seven-point lead.
But the Bluejays outscored the Jackrabbits 30-17 to open the second half, and the Jackrabbits never got closer than four points down the stretch.
The loss snapped a 12-game winning streak by SDSU, which also had won 22 straight games at home. The Jackrabbits also had won 54 straight games when leading at the half.
Woodard was 11-for-14 from the field, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range. The Bluejays shot 56 percent from the field and made nine of 18 3-pointers.
Ally Thrall added 19 points and nine rebounds. She was 7-for-8 from the free throw line.
Jenn Warkenthein led
SDSU with 26 points. Ketty Cornemann had 13 points and Maria Boever added 10 for the Jackrabbits.
SDSU shot 43 percent, but only 6-for-18 from 3-point range.
