OMAHA, Neb.- A solid performance by junior point guard Ally Thrall and continued stellar play from a duo of Bluejay freshmen led the Creighton women's basketball team past Wichita State 72-66 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium Saturday afternoon. Thrall led all players with 19 points, while redshirt freshman Megan Neuvirth tied her career-high with 16 points and led the Jays with eight rebounds and rookie Sam Schuett chipped in 11 points as CU won its third straight game to improve to 5-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference, 8-12 overall.

Creighton led 12-4 before the first media timeout and pushed ahead to a nine-point lead, up 18-9 with eight minutes gone by. CU led 20-11 before Wichita State (7-12, 2-7 MVC) went on a 15-6 run to tie the game at 26 with 5:53 to go in the first half. The Bluejays regained a six-point lead before a 10-2 Shocker run gave WSU its first lead of the game, up 37-36 after a Lexee McDonnell layup with 35 seconds to play. Thrall drained a pair of free-throws with six seconds left in the half to give CU a one-point halftime lead.

Similar to the first-half, the Bluejays started off well, building to their largest lead of the game by using a 12-2 run to open the half. But as was the case in the first half, the Jays could not maintain their comfortable lead, allowing the Shockers to close within one point with 7:21 to play. After WSU cut the score to 59-58 in favor of the Jays, the teams exchanged missed baskets before a Neuvirth layup gave the Jays a three point lead.

Minutes later, WSU would make the score 64-62 CU on a jumper by Kyrie Kinder, but Neuvirth again answered to give the Jays a four-point lead. Neuvirth virtually sealed the game on CU's next possession, gathering two offensive rebounds on her own missed shots before putting in her third attempt to give CU a 68-62 lead with 2:59 to play. WSU did get within three with 1:14 to play, but Thrall drained 3-of-4 free-throws in the final 23 seconds to secure the CU win.

Not only did Thrall top the team with 19 points, she added six rebounds and led the team with five assists and three steals. Neuvirth tied her career-high with 16 points (established just last Sunday), while she led the team with eight rebounds and added two steals. Schuett also reached double figures with 11 points, while center Kristina Voss scored nine points and dished four assists in 29 minutes off the bench.

WSU was led by Kiki Stephens' 13 points and Antionette Wells 13 rebounds.

Wichita State is next in action at 7 p.m., Sat., Feb. 3 against Missouri State.