On Sunday, the Creighton women’s basketball team fell to DePaul by a final score of 76-61. When their plane landed in snowy Chicago, they had hoped to build momentum after a win against Xavier. The Bluejays had an 8-11 overall record going into the matchup, with a Big East record of 4-6.  

DePaul was also not looking stellar going into this contest. The Blue Demons had an overall record of 4-17 with a Big East record of 1-9 heading into the game, with their lone Big East win being against Georgetown. When Creighton hosted DePaul on Dec. 20, the Bluejays earned a comfortable victory with a score of 70-50.  

Five minutes into the game, the Blue Demons had a 7-point lead, up 13-6. Creighton then went on a 5-0 run thanks to a layup from graduate student forward Grace Boffeli and a 3-pointer made by freshman guard Neleigh Gessert. This run put the Bluejays within 2 points of the Blue Demons with about 4 minutes to go in the first quarter. Both teams remained competitive for the next 3 minutes of gameplay. DePaul led by one-possession with 1:03 remaining in the first quarter, then extended its lead when redshirt freshman guard Alyana West grabbed a steal and made a layup. Each team made a 2-point basket in the final 35 seconds of the first quarter, and DePaul was up 23-18 going into the second. 

The second quarter did not go as the Bluejays hoped. The Blue Demons outscored the Bluejays 21-13 throughout the second, and DePaul had a double-digit lead going into halftime, up 44-31.  

After about seven minutes and 20 seconds of gameplay into the third quarter, DePaul led 58-45 with only 2:36 remaining in the third. Creighton crept within 4 points after a 9-0 run to end the quarter.  

DePaul opened the fourth with a 10-2 run, pushing their lead into double digits. Creighton was overall outscored 18-7 in the fourth quarter, and the Blue Demons earned the victory over the Bluejays.  

The loss dropped Creighton’s record to 8-12 overall with a Big East record of 4-7, while this game improved DePaul’s record to 5-17 overall with a Big East record of 2-9. Freshman guard Ava Zediker led the Bluejays in scoring with 19 points; she shot 7-18 from the field.  

Here are some key takeaways from Sunday’s game.  

#1 – Creighton was outplayed in most facets of the game 

The box score of this game is not going to make Bluejay fans happy. Creighton was out-rebounded by the Blue Demons, and DePaul also had more assists and steals than the Bluejays. To make matters worse, Creighton turned the ball over more than DePaul did. The Bluejays were also dominated in bench points, with DePaul’s reserves scoring a combined 29 points, while Creighton only had seven points off the bench. Freshman guard Kendall McGee scored all seven of Creighton’s bench points.  

#2 – The Bluejays failing to build on late third quarter momentum was costly  

The 9-0 run to end the third quarter was big. It made the contest a 2-possession game, giving Creighton a real chance at winning. However, the Bluejays collapsed in the fourth quarter with flimsy defense. 

#3 – The Bluejays need to start winning games immediately  

To earn a decent seed for the Big East Tournament in March, the Bluejays can’t afford to lose many of their remaining regular season games. Creighton needs to find some late-season magic and win at least six of the nine regular season games remaining to avoid a losing conference record.  

The Bluejays are back in action on tonight against the St. John’s Red Storm at the D.J Sokol Arena. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.