UNI women’s basketball ‘fell about 30 seconds too short’ against Creighton

CEDAR FALLS — The Northern Iowa women’s basketball team fell short to Creighton Saturday afternoon at McLeod Center, 75-71.

Trailing by one to begin the fourth quarter, the Bluejays (7-2) gained their largest lead of the game with a 13-3 run that put them ahead 66-57 with just over three minutes remaining.

Cold shooting caught up to the Panthers (4-4), as a 1-for-14 stretch from the field to end the third quarter and begin the fourth proved costly.

“When we (were) up five we went 3-for-6 from the free-throw line and we started the fourth quarter with six missed layups,” UNI Coach Tanya Warren said. “It’s hard to beat anybody, especially a really, really good team that executes as well as Creighton does (doing that).

“I thought we did a lot of really good things and we’re on the cusp of being a really, really good team. We just have to learn to do the little things when we get a little bit fatigued.”

UNI guard Maya McDemott quickly conjured her own comeback, though, going on a 10-2 run to bring the Panthers within one with 1:16 left to play.

McDermott found her way to the basket once again to shrink Creighton’s lead to one after Brooke Littrell — who finished with 12 points off the bench — scored a layup after breaking UNI’s press defense.

With an opportunity for a game-tying basket with 14 seconds remaining, McDermott’s jump shot rattled out and three free throws later secured the Bluejays the win.

“We executed our press to a T. Got some turnovers (and) some quick buckets,” Warren said. “We just fell about 30 seconds too short. But, again, it says a lot about this team. There’s no give-up mentality.”

Lauren Jensen led Creighton with 17 points. Morgan Maly and Kiani Lockett added 14 and 10 points, respecitvely.

McDermott finished with a game-high 23 points and was joined in double figures by Taryn Wharton and Kayba Laube, who finished with 11 and 10, respectively.

“I think the end of the game is magnified, so everyone really focuses on the last couple possessions because it’s such a close game, (but) I thought our execution at the beginning of the game wasn’t very good,” McDermott said. “It’s a four-quarter game, so we have to have that execution throughout the whole game.”

UNI returns to action Tuesday at home against South Dakota (4-6) at 6 p.m. (ESPN+).