After a dominant 81-51 victory over St. John’s on Wednesday, the Creighton women’s basketball team looked to earn their second consecutive win as they traveled to South Orange to take on the Seton Hall Pirates. The Bluejays went into Sunday’s game with a 5-7 record in the Big East. Seton Hall was ranked four spots above Creighton, with a solid 9-3 Big East record.
This game marked the second matchup between these two teams. Creighton lost to Seton Hall at home on Dec. 22, with a final score of 88-79. The Bluejays looked to earn some revenge on Sunday.
Neither team was able to build a strong lead early in the context, and Seton Hall was up 7-5 in with 6:44 left in the first quarter. Senior guard Kennedy Townsend would then tie things up at 7 with a layup. Freshman guard Neleigh Gessert then went on a 5-0 run with a driving layup and a 3-pointer, pushing the Bluejays ahead 12-7. Freshman guard Ava Zeidecker added a layup less than two minutes of gameplay later, and Creighton doubled up Seton Hall 14-7 with 3:31 remaining in the first quarter.
Pirates guard Savannah Catalon made a 3-pointer to end Creighton’s scoring streak, but freshman guard Kendall McGee answered with a 3-pointer of her own. Creighton held its 7-point lead with about three minutes to go in the first quarter.
Seton Hall senior Jordana Codio made a basket while fouled and took advantage of the and-one opportunity by successfully putting in the free throw. This trimmed Creighton’s lead to 17-13. However, graduate student forward Grace Boffeli went on a 4-0 run with two made layups and Creighton was up 21-13 with 1:43 remaining. Sophomore guard Ja’Kahla Craft scored the last points of the quarter when she made a two-point basket for the Pirates. The score was 21-15 in favor of the Bluejays going into the second period.
Pirates senior forward Shailyn Pinkney scored the first with a layup. Creighton would then go on a 6-0 run with 3-pointers from Townsend and Gessert. The Bluejays held a double-digit lead, 27-17.
The Pirates would show some fight and go on a 7-1 run, and the game was a two-possession contest at 28-24, but sophomore guard Allison Heatchcock made a put the Bluejays up 30-24 with two free throws. Both teams would battle throughout the remainder of the second quarter, and the Bluejays held a lead at 45-39 going into halftime.
The third quarter unfolded as a tightly contested battle. The Bluejays maintained a slim two-possession lead for most of the period, but a 3-pointer by Gessert pushed the lead to three possessions. The Pirates responded with 4 unanswered points to make the score 58-55, and it was a one-possession game for the first time since the first half. Still, Boffeli made a layup with less than a minute left in the third, sending Creighton into the final quarter with a 60-55 lead.
The Bluejays started the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run, giving them a solid 67-55 lead with 5:36 remaining in the ball game. Seton Hall chose to take a timeout with 5:14 left in the fourth. The Pirates seem to have used that timeout productively as they went on a 9-0 run immediately afterwards. The game was a nail-biter at 1:25 to go, with the Bluejays up 67-64.
The Pirates fouled McGee, stopping the clock with only 32 seconds left. She answered with two clutch free throws, making the game 69-64.
The Bluejays held on and won the road game by a final score of 72-66. Gessert led the Bluejays in scoring with 16 points. Two other Bluejays scored double figures: Kennedy with 14 points and Heathcock with 11 points. Heathcock also had 10 rebounds, which gave her the first double-double of her career. The victory improved Creighton’s record to 10-12 overall and 6-7 in the Big East. Seton Hall dropped to 15-7 and 9-4 in the conference. Every conference win is pivotal as the Bluejays seek a favorable seed in the Big East tournament.
Here are three takeaways from the victory:
#1 – Bluejays showed mental toughness at the end
When Seton Hall went on a 9-0 run to make it a one-possession game at 67-64 late in the fourth quarter, the Bluejays could have lost their composure and dropped the game, especially on the road against a quality opponent like Seton Hall. But the Bluejays were able to stay focused in the hostile environment and earn the win.
#2 – Creighton flips the physical battle
When Creighton took on Seton Hall in December, the Pirates out-rebounded the Bluejays 36-26 and outscored Creighton in the paint 34-22. Creighton was able to flip that script on Sunday by outrebounding Seton Hall and tying the Pirates in the paint at 30. This improvement in physical performance played a large role in the Bluejays road victory.
#3 – Creighton is winning at an important time
When the Bluejays lost at DePaul on Jan. 25, they had an underwhelming record of 8-12 and were 4-7 in Big East play. At that time, it was looking unlikely for the Bluejays to earn a decent seed for the Big East Tournament in March. However, Creighton is now on a two-game win streak and sits at 10-12 overall with a Big East record of 6-7. The Bluejays have a realistic path to finish with a winning record in conference play as they have seven regular season games remaining.
The Bluejays will be back in action Wednesday, facing the Georgetown Hoyas at D.J. Sokol Arena. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.