Creighton's Sydney Lamberty finished the afternoon with 18 points.
Creighton pulls away from St. John’s to reach Big East semifinals
By Jack McCarthy
Box Score | Creighton Quotes | St. John's Quotes
CHICAGO — Jaylyn Agnew scored 23 points and Sydney Lamberty added 18 as Creighton advanced to the Big East semifinals with a 66-58 victory over St. John’s on Sunday at WIntrust Arena.
The win by the fourth seeded Bluejays (18-11) was their first in four conference tourney meetings with the Red Storm.
Next up for Creighton is top-seed Marquette in Monday’s first semifinal at 3 p.m. Central at Wintrust Arena.
Maya Singleton topped St. John’s with 18 points, Tiana England had 16 and Akina Wellere added 11 for the No. 4 seed Red Storm (16-14).
Agnew scored nine points as Creighton opened a 15-12 lead by the close of the first quarter. The Bluejays extended it to as many as 10 late in the second quarter en route to a 32-24 halftime advantage on 50-percent (13-of-26) shooting.
St. John’s opened the third quarter with 10 unanswered points and a temporary 34-33 lead. There were three more lead changes and a pair of ties before the Bluejays pushed back ahead on the way to a 45-42 edge entering the final quarter.
The Bluejays maintained and then built on their lead, finally opening a 60-50 advantage with 1:23 left in regulation.
Creighton was 7-of-14 from 3-point range as Agnew hit a team-high three. St. John’s was just 1-of-6 from long distance and was out rebounded 35-36.
The Big East title game is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday on DePaul’s new home court.