McKenzie Fujan scored a career-high 24 points as Creighton held off a late Syracuse rally to beat the Orange 61-56 Saturday afternoon in Knoxville and earn their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1994.

After trailing by 10 points with less than five minutes remaining, Syracuse had a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer in the final seconds, but Elashier Hall's shot hit the right side of the rim. Creighton's Sarah Nelson added two free throws with three-tenths of a second left.

Kayla Alexander, the leading scorer in Syracuse history, had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Orange (24-8), the No. 7 seed in the Oklahoma City Regional. Carmen Tyson-Thomas added 13 points for Syracuse, which was seeking its first NCAA Tournament victory ever.

Fujan shot 6-of-10 from three-point range for the Bluejays (25-7) and had 17 points by halftime. Nelson added 17 points.