Nov. 27, 2009

DAVIS, Calif. - Kelsey Woodard made a layup from the left side of the key with one second left in overtime on Friday night, capping her game-high 22 points, as visiting Creighton edged UC Davis 63-61 in a nonconference women's basketball game at The Pavilion.

The Aggies fell to 2-3 on the season while the Bluejays, picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference, improved to 4-1. Paige Mintun led UC Davis with 13 points while Heidi Heintz had 11 and Vicky Deely came off the bench for 10.

Sam Schuett scored 14 points while guard Chevelle Herring had 10 for Creighton which made a season-high 16 three-pointers. The Bluejays, who led 43-33 at halftime, scored just 20 points after intermission, all of them on three-pointers except for Woodard's winning points.

UC Davis led by 11 points in the first half but went down by as many as 11 before battling back to take a 50-49 lead midway through the second half.

"It was, obviously, a game of momentum swings although those momentum games tended to be quite large and expansive," said UC Davis coach Sandy Simpson.

Mintun's free throw with 30 seconds left in regulation tied the game 58-58 while good defense by the Aggies in the waning seconds forced a tough shot by Ally Jensen at the buzzer which was off the mark and led to the extra period.

Two free throws by Haylee Donaghe and another by Mintun gave UC Davis a 61-58 lead midway through overtime but Jensen made her third three-poiner of the game to knot the score with 1:19 to go. A turnover by Creighton gave the Aggies the ball with 26 seconds left but the Bluejays forced one by UC Davis with 13 seconds to go.

Schuett then found Woodard open in the key in the final seconds and she drove for a left-handed layup and the winning points.

Woodard tied a season-high with six three-pointers while Schuett had four and Chevelle Herring two. The Bluejays made 22 baskets in the game, 16 of them from beyond the arc. They also held a 42-31 advantage on the boards.

Fueled by four points from Mintun and a three-pointer from Kasey Riecks, UC Davis raced to a 9-0 in the first three minutes and then expanded the lead to 13-2 before a 14-0 run by Creighton put it in front 16-14.

The game was tied twice after that before an 18-8 surge - sparked by three straight treys from Woodard - helped the Bluejays take their 10-point halftime lead.

Heintz scored the first five points of the second half as UC Davis began to rally, eventuallly taking a 50-49 lead with 10:22 to play on a layup from Deely. The Aggies erased a four-point deficit later but never took the lead, helping to force overtime with Mintun's late free throw.

"It's just a shame we put a great effort out in the second half and most of the overtime and didn't reward ourselves," Simpson said. "I think you have to give Creighton a lot of credit."

Mintun added five assists and three blocks while Donaghe had four steals.

The Aggies will return to action on Tuesday when they play at Saint Mary's. They will continue on the road with a matchup on Thursday at Santa Clara.