Omaha, Neb. — Emma Ronsiek scored a career-high 30 points and Tatum Rembao had a double-double to lead Creighton women’s basketball to an 86-80 victory over visiting St. John’s on Sunday, Jan. 16.
The Bluejays ended the game on a 9-3 run to cap a fourth quarter that featured four lead changes.
Creighton improved to 12-4 on the year and is 7-1 in BIG EAST play, while St. John’s dropped to 5-10 (1-4 BIG EAST) with its sixth straight loss. It was Creighton’s first win over St. John’s since 2019, snapping a four-game losing streak in the series.
St. John’s led 23-21 after one quarter and 42-39 at halftime thanks in large part to the efforts of Leilani Correa. The BIG EAST’s leading scorer buried go-ahead three-pointers in the final seconds of each period to give St. John’s the lead.
The Red Storm opened up a 51-43 lead early in the third quarter before the Bluejays went on a 10-2 run and tied it at 53 on a three-ball by Morgan Maly. The Bluejays took a 63-61 lead into the fourth as Ronsiek (10 points) and Correa (8) traded baskets during a fast-paced frame.
The Bluejays looked in control with a 77-72 lead after a personal 8-0 run from Maly, but the Red Storm answered with the next five points to tie the score at 77 with 3:26 remaining. A pair of free throws from Lauren Jensen with 3:06 left gave Creighton a 79-77 lead and neither team would score for the next 104 seconds until Ronsiek swished two foul shots with 1:22 left to give CU a two-score edge.
The Bluejays forced a turnover on the Johnnies’ next possession with a minute remaining, then called timeout to set up a play with 40 0 seconds left. Rembao found Ronsiek inside for a lay-up with 28.7 left that just beat the shot clock after a trip to the replay monitor. Rembao added a free throw with 14.5 left before Correa drained at triple with 6.3 left to trim CU’s lead to four. Rembao sank two more at the line to push the Bluejay lead to 86-80 and earn her second career double-double, and first since Nov. 28, 2019.
Ronsiek drained a career-high five three-pointers and made 10-of-17 shots overall, in addition to being 5-for-5 at the line. Jensen scored 16, Maly had 15 and Rembao notched 10 points and a season-high 12 assists to become the first Bluejay in the last 25 seasons with back-to-back games of 10 or more assists. The Bluejays made 11-of-28 three-pointers and shot 48.4 percent overall from the the field, in addition to sinking 88.2 percent of its 17 free throws, en route to a season-high 86 points.
Correa led SJU with 26 points and five assists while Kadaja Bailey tallied 22 points. Rayven Peeples hauled down a game-high 13 rebounds for the Red Storm.
The Bluejays are off until Wednesday, when they begin a stretch of three road games in five days with a 5 p.m. Central game at Butler in a makeup of the teams’ Dec. 31 game that was postponed. St. John’s will visit Seton Hall on Wednesday.
Ronsiek’s 30 Points Lifts Creighton Women over St. John’s
