• Box Score: Creighton 76, Wichita State 59

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ST. CHARLES, Mo. — The Creighton women's basketball team switched from 3-point shooting to inside play to reach the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship game Sunday against Northern Iowa.

The No. 2-seeded Jays went to the paint to knock off No. 6-seeded Wichita State 76-59 in Saturday's semifinals at Family Arena. Sam Schuett led the Jays with 17 points, while Kellie Nelson produced 14 points in the paint and Chevelle Herring scored all 11 of her points in the first half.

On Friday, Creighton went 11 of 33 from 3-point range to beat Drake 65-62 in the quarterfinals.

“I love it when my teammates take those 3s,” said Nelson, a 6-foot-3 junior out of Omaha Westside. “We have a real good 3-point shooting team, so I'll get on those boards and I'll get those misses.”

Creighton (20-9) produced its third straight 20-win season while reaching the Valley final for the third time in four years.

Creighton will face the Panthers (16-15) at 2:35 p.m., with the winner securing the MVC's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Fox Sports Net Midwest will televise the final.

The Jays lost to Evansville in the title game last season, 47-45 on a buzzer-beating shot.

No. 5-seeded Northern Iowa, coached by former Creighton associate coach Tanya Warren, upset top-seeded Illinois State 61-59 in Saturday's first semifinal.

Referring to UNI, Creighton coach Jim Flanery said: “They've played well against us. We got them once, but we were lucky to get them. We were down by 18 in the second half and came back and won (62-58). They're a difficult matchup for us, and they're playing very well.”

The Jays made only eight field goals in the first half Friday in the win over Drake, but they were sizzling from the field against the Shockers (17-14), converting on 16 of 26 attempts (62 percent) in the first half. The Jays were 26 for 49 for the game. Creighton attempted only seven 3-pointers in the first half Saturday.

Creighton outscored the Shockers 22-10 in the first half in the paint, finishing with 34 points in the lane.

“We saw a zone last night and tonight, we saw a team that really extended out defensively,” said Flanery, whose team is 16-0 when holding teams under 60 points. “It's also a team where Kellie has a little bit more of a size advantage. Our plan was to throw the ball inside to Kellie.

“When you're stretched out as far defensively as they are and trying to take passes away, you have to put the ball on the floor. I didn't know we had that many points in the paint, but we need to be a team that relies less on the 3.”

The Jays just needed to be able to hang onto the basketball and withstand Wichita State's pressure man-to-man defense. Despite 14 turnovers in the game, the Jays managed well.

“That's what makes Wichita good,” Schuett said. “They're really scrappy on defense, they battle every possession.”

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