Creighton upsets Seton Hall to reach Big East title game
Creighton Quotes Seton Hall Quotes
By Jack McCarthy
Special to
BigEast.com
CHICAGO — Another day, another upset for Creighton.
MC McGrory scored 23 points and Jade Owens added 16 as the No. 7 seed Bluejays (17-16) secured their first Big East championship game berth with a 77-56 semifinal victory over third seeded Seton Hall on Monday afternoon.
Creighton, which reached the semifinals with a 57-48 upset of second-seed Villanova on Sunday, trailed only briefly at the outset, opened some distance in the third quarter and pulled away in the fourth to leads of as many as 25 points at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
Audrey Faber added 11 points for the Bluejays, who were successful both inside and outside. Creighton hit five 3-pointers and shut out Seton Hall 11-0 on second chance tries for the game while shooting 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field in the second half.
Shakena Richardson topped Seton Hall (23-8) with 20 points while Aleesha Powell added 10.
Creighton faces the winner of Monday’s DePaul-St. John’s match in Tuesday’s championship game.
Seton Hall had the opening basket but most of the first half belonged to Creighton and McGrory, who collected 11 points and five rebounds through the first 20 minutes as the Bluejays led 29-21 at intermission.
Creighton promptly pushed the lead to double dights when Owens and Faber started the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers.
Owens then added a baseline two-pointer for a 36-21 Creighton advantage.
The Bluejay lead grew to 17 points — at 40-34 — following Faber’s baseline jumper and two McGrory free throw at the 7:23 mark.
Creighton led 52-39 entering the final period and padded the lead as it successfully worked through Seton Hall’s full court press.