March Madness: No. 11 Mississippi State women upend No. 6 Creighton after First Four win

Jason Owens
·Staff writer
Updated ·2 min read

Mississippi State is making the most of its First Four win.

The 11th-seeded Bulldogs upended No. 6 Creighton, 81-66 on Friday in one of the biggest upsets of the first day of the NCAA women's tournament. They took control early with a 25-16 first-quarter edge, then hammered home the win with an 18-8 run in the third quarter.

The victory is Mississippi State's second straight after a 70-56 win over Illinois in the First Four to earn its way into round of 64. The victories justify the Bulldogs' selection as one of the field's last four at-large teams. It was the first time a First Four team won a round of 64 game.

Mississippi State controlled both sides of the court Friday while shooting lights out from 3-point distance. Five Bulldogs players scored in double figures led by 20 points from junior guard JerKaila Jordan. She led the 3-point onslaught while connecting on 4 of 5 attempts from distance. As a team, MSU shot 11 of 19 (57.9%) from beyond the arc and 49.1% from the field.

Mississippi State's JerKaila Jordan (2) celebrates after a 3-point basket as Creighton's Morgan Maly (30) and Emma Ronsiek (31) look on during the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 17, 2023, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Michael Caterina)
JerKaila Jordan celebrates one of her four successful 3-point attempts for Mississippi State. (AP Photo/Michael Caterina)

The shooting effort was simply too much for Creighton to overcome as it hit fewer 3-pointers on nearly twice as many attempts. The Bluejays finished 9 of 34 (26.5%) from long distance while shooting 37.3% from the field. All-Big East guard Lauren Jensen led the Creighton effort with 22 points and five assists while fellow All-Big East guard Morgan Maly struggled to 4 points and five rebounds while shooting 1 of 11 from the field. She missed all eight of her 3-point attempts.

Mississippi State advances to Sunday's second round, where it will face No. 3 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish beat Southern Utah earlier Friday, 82-56. They're playing without All-America guard Olivia Miles, who's been ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.