Cedar Falls, Iowa -- Guided by 23 points from junior Emma Ronsiek (Sioux Falls, S.D.), the 20th ranked Creighton Women's Basketball team defeated Northern Iowa 85-66 on Sunday, November 20.

The win lifted the Bluejays to 4-0 on the season, while the Panthers fell to 2-2 overall.

Ronsiek and the Bluejays were cooking from the start as the South Dakota native scored nine points in the opening five minutes to help Creighton race out to a 13-7 lead with 5:38 left. Fellow juniors Morgan Maly (Crete, Neb.) and Lauren Jensen (Lakeville, Minn.) scored 10 combined in the first quarter, giving Creighton a 25-12 edge after ten minutes.

The Bluejay lead steadily grew through the second quarter, hitting 20 at 41-21 on an interior bucket from senior Carly Bachelor (Topeka, Kan.). Moments later Bachelor drained a trey from the wing to make it 47-23 with 1:54 remaining in the first half.

Holding a 49-26 advantage at the break the Bluejays held a 20-14 lead in the paint and held a 9-0 edge on points off turnovers.

Northern Iowa returned to the court with increased aggressiveness as the Panthers found success driving to the basket. The primary attacker was Maya McDermott as the Panther guard gathered nine points in the frame. Ronsiek answered the challenge for the Jays with eight points in the frame as the contest moved to the final stanza with Creighton leading 69-49.

Creighton saw its lead trimmed to 16 (75-59) early in the fourth, but a layup from Jensen and a three-ball from Maly launched the Bluejays back to a 21-point lead (80-59).

One final Panther push brought the game to 80-65, yet junior Mallory Brake (Hastings, Minn.) and freshman Kennedy Townsend (Kansas City, Mo.) delivered on the interior and from long range respectively to close out the contest.

Ronsiek's 23 led all scorers, becoming Creighton's fourth different player to top 20 points this season in four contests.
Jensen closed the game with 19 points, while Maly and Bachelor delivered 14 and 11 points respectively.

Northern Iowa got a team-high 14 points from McDermott and Ryley Goebel in the loss.

Creighton has a quick turnaround as the Bluejays face the Omaha Mavericks in Baxter Arena on Tuesday, November 22 at 7:05 p.m.

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