Creighton hands Villanova its first loss

OMAHA, NEB. » Audrey Faber and Jaylyn Agnew each scored 19 points and Creighton upset No. 18 Villanova 69-54 Thursday in a Big East Conference opener to give coach Jim Flanery his 300th program win.

Sydney Lamberty’s 3-point play off a layup put Creighton (7-4) ahead 39-36 with 5:51 left in the third quarter and the Bluejays never trailed thereafter.

Villanova owned leads of 16-9 and 29-20 in the first half before Creighton began to take control and trailed 33-32 at intermission. Villanova (10-1) finished the second half shooting just 8 for 23 from the field including 2 for 9 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Creighton controlled the interior and outscored the Wildcats 36-24 inside and scored 20 points off 10 Villanova turnovers. Creighton outrebounded Villanova 35-28. The Bluejays shot 49 percent (27 of 55).

Megan Quinn and Jannah Tucker led Villanova (10-1) with 11 points each and Adrianna Hahn scored 10. NOTRE DAME 87, SYRACUSE 72 » Junior Jessica Shepard, playing despite a sprained ankle, had 24 points and 12 rebounds as No. 2 Notre Dame pulled away from upset-minded Syracuse for an Atlantic Coast Conference.

Jackie Young tied her careerhigh with 23 points, Kathryn Westbeld had 16 with the help of three 3-pointers and Arike Ogunbowale had 12 points for the Irish (12-1).

Sophomore point guard Tiana Mangakahia had a game-high 26 points, eight assists and nine rebounds to lead Syracuse (12-2). Miranda Drummond added 15 points. (3) LOUISVILLE 74, GEORGIA TECH 71» Louisville point guard Asia Durr returned to her hometown and scored 38 points, but it took teammate Myisha Hines-Allen’s driving layup with 1.9 seconds remaining for the third-ranked Cardinals to squeak out the win.

The Yellow Jackets (11-3) built a 22-13 lead on a jumper by freshman Kierra Fletcher with 9:55 left in the second quarter only to watch Louisville (15-0) close the period on a 33-12 blitz in which Durr scored 18 points.

Tech was led by reserve guard Kayla Pugh’s 17 points.