Creighton Women’s Basketball came out with a bang during their exhibition games to open the season. The wins secured against Missouri Western, followed by North Dakota State, prepare them to take the floor for their first regular season game next week.
Last season, the Jays made their fourth straight appearance in the NCAA tournament, but fell short to University of Illinois in the first round. Despite this, they finished the 2024-2025 season with an astonishing 24-7 record and a 16-2 record in conference. This year, the team was selected as No. 5 in the Big East Preseason Poll. After losing the program’s greatest class — Lauren Jensen, Morgan Maly, Molly Mogensen, Mallory Brake and Jayme Horan — Head Coach Jim Flanery is navigating the highs and lows of a team with many new faces.
This season’s only returners include seniors Kiani Lockett and Kennedy Townsend, as well as sophomores Allison Heathcock and Elizabeth Gentry. Together, they put up 56 points against Missouri Western with 16 assists and 5 steals. Lockett, the lone returning starter, led the four during the Missouri Western game with 16 points and 8 assists.
This year’s freshmen include Kendall McGee, Tara Dacic, Avery Cooper, Neleigh Gessert, Ava Zediker and Norah Gessert, accounted for 61 points, 14 assists, and 8 steals during the Missouri Western matchup.
“I think when we do set the tone and we get off to good starts, it only makes it easier for the freshmen to do the same,” Lockett described.
Townsend exemplified this initiative through her strong start against Missouri Western. Within just the first 10 minutes of the game, she scored 11 points. Last year, she racked up 190 points throughout the season, ending with shooting .400 and averaging 5.8 points per game.
Additionally, Grace Boffeli, a graduate transfer from Northern Iowa, ended her first Creighton exhibition with 8 points and an assist.
Though ending the Missouri Western game with a booming 117-66 victory, Flanery expressed the room for growth that was present within the team’s offensive rebounds, as exemplified in the first half.
“We’d given up six offensive rebounds at that point,” he explained regarding his timeout early into the second quarter. “In the first four to five minutes, I thought we were pretty good on the defensive glass … we just didn’t rebound.”
Despite this, the Jays finished with a total of 44 rebounds, as compared to Missouri Western’s 40.
Flannery also spoke highly of his freshman. In particular, he addressed Zediker’s warming up to the team and how she started to fire up in the fourth quarter.
“Getting good stops on defense, getting a good possession going and then just pushing the ball, finding the open person and passing the ball, seeing the ball go through the net for other people helps me get going too,” Zediker said.
Additionally, freshman McGee put up an impressive 18 points in her debut. Flannery described her as a strong communicator, despite the time taken off due to her previous injury, with great pride.
“She’s practiced better …” he explained. “She was a really highly rated player before her knee injury, and I think she’s going to have some really big games. The key will be just to be consistent as a freshman.”
With an abundance of experimentation during the first exhibition game, the team was able to squeak out a win of 64-61 against North Dakota State in their second and final exhibition game. North Dakota’s comeback was consistent, but the Jays were able to secure the win, ending with Heathcock’s timely basket to end with a 3-point gap. During this game, the returners came out strong, with Townsend putting up 12 points and Gentry, 11.
This exhibition sweep leads the Jays into their first official season game against South Dakota State at D.J. Sokol Arena on Monday, Nov. 3. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.