St. Charles, Mo. - Haleigh Lankster scored 19 points with a career-high 14 rebounds and also snagged six steals to lift the No. 5-seed Wichita State University women's basketball team to a 58-52 victory over the No. 4-seed Creighton Blue Jays in the quarterfinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.  The Shockers advance to the semi-finals against top-seeded Northern Iowa, Saturday at 1:35 p.m.

Wichita State advanced to the semi-final round of the MVC Tournament for the second straight year with what has become a familiar formula lately - forcing turnovers and disrupting the opposition's half-court offense.  The Shockers forced 21 Creighton turnovers and held the Blue Jays to 35.4% shooting.  Wichita State committed just 11 turnovers and cashed in at the free throw line, hitting all 15 attempts. 

Creighton scored the first five points of the game and also put up the first seven points of the second half but WSU largely controlled the remaining portions of the game.  The Shockers countered Creighton's 5-0 run to start the contest with a 14-3 spurt and eventually took a 26-20 lead into halftime.

When the Blue Jays' 7-0 run to start the second half put Creighton on top, the Shockers tightened up the defense and played neck-and-neck until breaking a 34-34 tie with an 8-0 run, during which four different Shockers scored.   

Creighton whittled the WSU advantage to three, 55-52 with under a minute to play but Chynna Turner swished a straightaway three-pointer with time expiring on the shot clock to give the Shocks the 58-82 final. 

In addition to Lankster's stat-stuffing performance, Jessica Diamond poured in 16 points with the help of 8-for-8 free throw shooting, and Jazimen Gordon came off the bench to contribute 10 points and five rebounds. 

MVC Freshman-of-the-Year Carli Tritz led the Blue Jays with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting but dished out only two assists with seven turnovers.  All-conference performers Kelsey Woodard and Sam Schuett combined for 15 points but connected on just 4-of-17 field goal attempts between them. 

With the victory, the Shockers matched the program's second-best two-year win total (35) and tie the all-time with a win over UNI on Saturday.  It would also send the Shockers to the MVC Tournament Final for the second time in school history.

NOTES: WSU set a program record for wins in the month of March (3)... The Shockers improved to 9-19 lifetime in the MVC Tournament... They are 2-3 as a No. 5 seed with both wins coming over Creighton... Head Coach Jody Adams tied Jane Albright for fifth place on the Shockers all-time wins list... She also tied the career mark for wins in the MVC Tournament (3)... This is the third straight year WSU has won a game in the MVC Tournament (a program first) and all three wins have come against higher-seeded opponents... Diamond's scoring output leaves her two points shy of 600 for her career... The Shockers beat Creighton twice this season, the first time WSU had done so since 2001... WSU has held six straight opponents to 58 points or fewer.