Creighton Women Run Away From Xavier, 82-64
Omaha, Neb. -- Grace Boffeli and Kendall McGee took it upon themselves to make certain Creighton Women's Basketball return to the win column as the tandem combined for 33 points and 20 rebounds in a 82-64 win over Xavier on Tuesday, January 20. The win pushed Creighton to 8-11 on the season and 4-6 in BIG EAST action, while Xavier fell to 10-9 overall and 3-7 in conference contests.
In the opening moments the two squads traded 6-0 runs. Tied for the third time at 11-11 (4:08), the Bluejays appeared to close the quarter with 11 consecutive points to seize a 22-11 edge. Xavier, however, raced down the floor in the final five seconds as Meri Kanerva knocked down a trey to send the game to the second quarter with CU holding a 22-14 lead.
The Bluejays controlled the first five minutes of the second quarter, outscoring Xavier 10-4 to push their lead out to 32-18 (4:55). A 10-2 Musketeer response send the teams to the locker rooms with Creighton holding a 34-28 advantage.
Following the script of the second quarter, Creighton pushed its edge back out to 14 (45-31) early in the third and Xavier responded by cutting the Bluejay lead back to six (53-47) with 2:03 left. This divergent ending came as the Jays closed the frame on a 7-2 run, courtesy of a three-pointer from Neleigh Gessert and layups from Boffeli and McGee.
One final push by Xavier brought the contest to a 65-58 score (6:22), but Creighton put the game away with a 11-2 surge.
Boffeli led Creighton with 18 points and 15 rebounds, while McGee delivered 15 points. Four other Bluejays finished in double figures with Allison Heathcock finishing with 14 points, Kennedy Townsend had 12 points, Ava Zediker scored 11 and Neleigh Gessert posted 10 points. Xavier had four finish in double digits, led by 16 from Mariyah Noel and 15 by Meri Kanerva. MacKenzie Givens finished with 12, while Savannah White delivered 10 points.
Creighton returns to the court on Saturday, January 25 in Chicago as the Bluejays face DePaul at the Wintrust Arena. The game is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. start.