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We have our first huge shocker in the 2022 women’s NCAA Tournament as the No. 10 Creighton Bluejays went into Iowa City and took down the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes 64-62 in the second round of the Greensboro Region.
The hero for Creighton ended up being Lauren Jensen, who buried the go-ahead three deep into the final minute of action. What makes this intriguing is that Jensen is a transfer from - you guessed it - Iowa.
What a shot on a floor she knows so well.
Lauren Jensen gives the Jays the lead! #MarchMadness x @CreightonWBB pic.twitter.com/cFfuJXftTX
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 20, 2022
she scored 23 points in her whole Iowa career, then scored 19 (including 9 of the last 10 points) to put Creighton into the Sweet 16 in front of 15,000 Iowa fans, that is iconic
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) March 20, 2022
The sophomore guard left the Iowa program via the transfer portal last April, ending up a Creighton where she has averaged 12.3 points this year and shot 44.4% from three. She told the Iowa Gazette this week that it was fun being back in her old home arena and that there was no bad blood between her and her former program.
As for the game itself, it was a back-and-forth affair that was notable for national player of the year candidate Caitlin Clark being held in check for the home Hawkeyes. Clark went just four-of-19 from the floor but still finished with 15 points and 11 assists.
Creighton has advanced to the regional semifinals in Greensboro, NC, this Friday where it will await either No. 3 Iowa State or No. 6 Georgia.