South Bend, Ind. -- The Creighton Women's Basketball season came to a close on Friday, March 17 as the Bluejays fell to Mississippi State 81-66 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Creighton's final record fell to 22-9, while Mississippi State moved to 22-10. The Bulldogs will face No. 3 Notre Dame in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 19.

The Bluejays fell victim to a sizzling start by the Bulldogs as Mississippi State hit five treys in the opening quarter and connected on 11-of-19 (57.9%) in the game. The 11 three-pointers were a season-high for Mississippi State.

Trailing by as much as 17 in the second quarter, Creighton caught fire late in the first half with an 8-0 run. Juniors Emma Ronsiek and freshman Kiani Lockett each connected from beyond the arc, then junior Lauren Jensen delivered a driving layup to make it 44-35 with under a minute remaining in the half. The Bulldogs however drained a three of their own, using a screen by 6-5 Jessika Carter to make it 47-35. Jensen answered with another driving layup to make it 47-37 at the break.

After halftime the Bluejays started 2-of-24 (8.3%), falling behind by as much as 23 at 70-47. The Bluejays began to heat up in the final frame, but the deficit was too much to overcome.

Creighton got a game-high 22 points from Jensen and 21 from Ronsiek in the loss. Mississippi State had five players finish in double figures, led by 20 from Jerkaila Jordan and 14 from Carter.