The Creighton Bluejay women’s basketball program has earned the reputation of being a consistent winner. The program is coming off of four consecutive seasons where the team managed to win at least 22 games. In that four year span, the Bluejays made an electric Elite Eight run in the 2022 NCAA Tournament where they took down the No. 2-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, and the Bluejays finished with an impressive 26-7 record a season ago.
However, this season has looked a lot different. The Bluejays started their regular season journey with a home game against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Nov. 3. The first three quarters of this game went back and forth, and it was only a two possession game going into the third quarter at 52-47 in favor of the Jackrabbits. However, the Bluejays struggled both offensively and defensively in the 4th quarter and were outscored by the Jackrabbits 26-15 in the last 10 minutes, giving South Dakota State a 78-62 victory and putting Creighton’s record at 0-1. The bright side for the Bluejays in this game was freshman guard Ava Zediker who scored 17 points off of an efficient 5-7 from the field, including 2 made 3-pointers.
The Bluejays had to shrug off this disappointing loss and go on the road to play the Drake Bulldogs in Des Moines on Nov. 9. Drake was 1-0 going into this matchup, thanks to their dominant 83-65 road win over Eastern Illinois. However, Creighton would prove to be a greater challenge for the Bulldogs. Creighton showed off an offensive attack, and went 12-30 from 3 point distance throughout the game. Senior guard Kiani Lockett led the Bluejays in scoring with 25 points, going 8-15 from the field. The Bluejays earned the victory by a final score of 83-74, which improved Creighton’s record to 1-1.
Next up for the Bluejays was a road game against the in-state rival Nebraska Cornhuskers on Nov. 12. Going into the game, Nebraska held a 2-0 record, consisting of two dominant wins over non power conference opponents. The Bluejays were unable to keep up with the Cornhuskers, and Nebraska won the game by a lopsided final score of 84-50. Zediker and sophomore center Elizabeth Gentry were the only Bluejays to score double figures during the game, while the Cornhuskers had a more balanced performance and had 4 players in double figures. Creighton fell to 1-2 after the loss.
Over a week later on Nov. 20, the Bluejays returned to the friendly confines of D.J Sokal Arena to take on the 0-3 Northern Iowa Panthers. Creighton led by ten points at halftime, but could not finish the job and lost the game in a 51-50 heartbreaker. Gentry was the only Blujay in double figures that night with 10 points. The loss dropped Creighton’s record to 1-3.
The Bluejays then headed south to compete in the UNLV Tournament, hosted at the Thomas & Mack Center on UNLV’s campus in Las Vegas. The Bluejays played in their first game of this tournament on November 26th when they took on the UNLV Lady Rebels. Going into the game, UNLV had a record of 2-3, and were coming off a one possession loss to the Arizona State Sundevils.
The Bluejays fell behind 5-0 at the beginning of their game against the Lady Rebels, but managed to bounce back and lead 21-17 at the end of the 1st quarter, their 1st quarter lead was largely due to the fact that the Bluejays were 8-13 from the field at this point of the game. The Bluejays were much less efficient in the 2nd quarter, going 7-21 from the field. However, Creighton led the game 40-35 at halftime.
UNLV started the 2nd half with an 8-0 run, giving the Lady Rebels a 43-40 lead with 06:57 left in the third quarter. Sophomore guard Allison Heathcock ended the UNLV run when she made a three point jumper to tie it up at 43. The 3rd quarter would continue to be competitive and the game was tied at 52 going into the 4th quarter.
Early in the 4th quarter, senior guard Kennedy Townsend would score a layup which gave the Bluejays a 54-52 lead, but UNLV responded with a 10-0 run, giving the Lady Rebels a 62-54 lead with 06:34 to go in the 4th quarter. UNLV would then finish the game and defeat the Bluejays by a final score of 76-67, dropping Creighton’s record to 1-4 on the season.
Creighton’s second and final contest of the UNLV Tournament was played on Saturday November 28th against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks who were 1-6 going into the game. The Bluejays got off to a hot start and went 10-18 from the field and 4-8 from 3 in the first quarter, while the Lumberjacks only shot 4-18 from the field and were 0-6 from 3 point distance in this quarter. This helped the Bluejays hold a comfortable 24-10 lead going into the 2nd quarter.
The 2nd quarter was a much different story. The Bluejays struggled and went 2-15 from the field and 1-10 from 3 in the quarter, while the Lumberjacks offense started to click. Northern Arizona shot 7-12 from the field and 3-7 in the 2nd quarter, helping the Lumberjacks outscore the Bluejays 17-7 in the 2nd quarter. This cut Creighton’s lead to 31-27 at halftime.
The Bluejays bounced back from their 2nd quarter struggles and outscored the Lumberjacks 33-15 in the 3rd quarter, giving the Bluejays a dominant 64-42 going into the 4th quarter. Creighton held on and won the game by a final score of 86-62, improving their record to 2-4. Gessert was Creighton’s leading scorer in this game, she came off the bench and dropped 25 points in 25 minutes. Gessert’s 3 point shooting ability was put on display and she went 7-13 from 3 point range throughout the game.
Here are five takeaways from the season so far as Creighton begins Big East play tonight.
#1 – Missing Experienced Leaders
The Bluejays were led in scoring by Lauren Jensen and Morgan Maly last season who both averaged over 17 points a game last season, both of them were seniors at that time. Making matters more severe, Creighton was led in assists by Molly Mogenson last season, while Mallory Brake led the team in steals and blocks, both of them were graduate students. Creighton is now without all of these experienced players is struggling without them so far.
#2 – Shooting Efficiency has Decreased
One of the areas where Creighton misses their veteran players of last season is in shooting. Maly, Brake and Jensen were the top 3 players last season in terms of field goal percentage. Losing these players has been noticeable in the statistics, the Bluejays had a field goal percentage of about 45% last season, and they are now shooting at about 34% this season from the field. Their 3 point percentage has also declined from last season. The Bluejays hit about 37% of their 3-pointers last season, yet they are only making about 32% of their 3’s this season.
#3 – Struggle in the Paint
In all 6 of their games so far, the Bluejays have been outscored in the paint. Their weakness in this area was most noticeable against South Dakota State when the Jackrabbits outscored the Bluejays by a total of 44-28 in the paint. Given that the Bluejays 3 point shooting efficiency has also declined, the Bluejays can’t afford to lose in the paint this severely.
#4 – Hope for the Future
Despite the Bluejays struggles, Creighton has reasons to be optimistic about the future. The Bluejays 2 top scorers Zediker and Gessert are both freshmen, they have both shown impressive skill and should continue to improve as they gain experience. Gessert is not only scoring a lot of points, she also leads the team in blocks at 1.2 a game.
#5 – Proven Coaching
Jim Flannery has been the head coach of the Bluejays since 2002 and has earned a lot of respect. Flannery had an impressive overall head coaching record of 453-275 coming into this season, and he has brought the Bluejays to 8 of their 10 total NCAA tournament appearances (including 4 consecutive appearances coming into this season). Given that the Bluejays have a quality head coach, it’s always possible that things could turn around this season.
The Bluejays are back in action on Thursday when they play St. John’s on the road in New York City for their Big East opener. Tip off is set for 6 p.m.