Women's Basketball Begins Home BIG EAST Schedule Against Villanova on Friday

Omaha, Neb. -- Coming off a split of a tough road weekend at #19 DePaul (W, 85-82) and at #20 Marquette, the Creighton women's basketball team opens the home portion of its BIG EAST schedule against Villanova on Friday, Jan. 4 at 7:00 in D.J. Sokol Arena.

Download the complete preview (PDF).

1/4: - 7:00 pm
Villanova (9-3, 1-1 BIG EAST) at Creighton (7-6, 1-1 BIG EAST)

Online Stream: BIG EAST Digital Network
http://foxsportsgo.com/
John Fanta (PxP) & Jon Schriner (Analyst)

Stats (Free): http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=crei

Twitter: @GoCreighton, @CreightonWBB

Series with Villanova: Creighton Leads 7-4
Creighton holds an 7-4 series edge on the Wildcats, but Villanova broke Creighton's six game winning streak in the last meeting. The Wildcats posted a 55-48 win over the Bluejays on Feb. 25, 2018. The Bluejays are 4-1 against Villanova in Omaha, dropping only the
meeting in 2015.

Series with Villanova:
Date   Opponent   Score
12/28/13   Villanova   W, 65-58
2/1/14   at Villanova   L, 54-68
1/9/15   Villanova   L, 61-65
3/1/15   at Villanova   L, 53-61
1/5/16   at Villanova   W, 65-62
1/29/16   Villanova   W, 53-48
3/6/16   @ ª vs. Villanova   W, 57-48
1/10/17   Villanova   W, 60-46
2/3/17   at Villanova   W, 47-44
12/28/17   #18 Villanova   W, 69-54
2/25/18   at Villanova   L, 48-55

@ = played in Chicago, Ill.
ª = BIG EAST Tournament game

Scouting Creighton (7-6, 1-1 BIG EAST)
The Bluejays posted their best win of the season at #19 DePaul on Dec. 29, 85-82, but were forced to settle for the split two days later falling at #20 Marquette, 85-67. In the win over DePaul, seniors Brooke Kissinger and Audrey Faber combined for 39 points to lift the Bluejays to the win. Creighton, however, looked a step slow facing a Marquette team that was without BIG EAST preseason player of the year, Allazia Blockton. Creighton has hit at least 10 three-pointers in six of its last seven contest and 10 times in 13 games. In what is typically a low scoring battle, the Bluejays will need to continue to shoot the ball well from long range against the Wildcats.

Scouting Villanova (9-3, 1-1 BIG EAST)
Villanova was inconsistent in its opening weekend of BIG EAST play at home. The Wildcats have been outscored 52-22 in the fourth quarter of its last two contests. In addition Villanova had just 13 points combined from its bench in the two contests. The Wildcats have been highly successful this season with a balanced scoring attack from starters Kelly Jekot, Adrianna Hahn, Mary Gedaka and Jannah Tucker. The quartet are averaging 50.1 ppg. As a team Villanova is at 63.9 ppg, so the four mentioned have 78.4% of the Wildcats points.

Wildcats and Bluejays Play True to Their Mascot
Friday's battle is likely to come down to which style wins. Villanova's victory over Creighton in the regular-season finale came largely due to interior dominance. In that win Mary Gedaka posted 21 points off the bench, hitting 9-of-16 from the field. If Gedaka can score consistently in the paint it will give Villanova an edge. Conversely the Bluejays this season have hit double-digit treys in 10 games. If the Bluejays can consistently hit from beyond the arc, Creighton will have the edge.

Bluejays Win at McGrath-Phillips Was Tougher Than It Seemed
The Bluejays win at DePaul's home court of McGrath-Phillips becomes even more impressive given that DePaul is 41-8 in home BIG EAST contests since realignment prior to the 2013-14 season. Just two teams have defeated the Blue Demons more than once in McGrath-Phillips (Seton Hall in 2014-15 & 2015-16 and St. John's in 2013-14 & 2014-15). The other BIG EAST teams to register a win in McGrath-Phillips are Georgetown (2017-18), Marquette (2016-17) and Villanova (2015-16).

Completing the Midwest Sweep Done Just Twice
As if winning at DePaul wasn't difficult enough, just twice since realignment has a team won road games in Chicago and Milwaukee since realignment. The only team to claim a true weekend sweep was Villanova during the 2015-16 season, besting Marquette 82-75 on Jan. 8 and downing DePaul 64-60 on Jan. 10. St. John's accomplished the task during the 2013-14 season. The Red Storm, however, had a home game between wins as St. John's downed DePaul 96-86 on Jan. 11. One week later the Red Storm bested Marquette 49-47 on Jan. 18.

Kissinger Explodes for a Career Game to Lift Bluejays to Upset Win at #19 DePaul
Senior Brooke Kissinger exploded for a career-high 20 points, hitting seven of eight from the field in the Bluejays' 85-82 win at #19 DePaul on Dec. 29. Kissinger entered the game with the Blue Demons with six treys in her first 35 games as a Bluejay. She doubled that total with six from beyond the arc in the win.

Flanery Completes BIG EAST Road Win Collection at #19 DePaul on Dec. 29
It took him six seasons into BIG EAST play for Bluejay head coach Jim Flanery to post a road win at each of the other nine sites. Flanery claimed road wins against Georgetown (1), Providence (2), Seton Hall (3) and Xavier (4) in 2013-14. The following season Creighton collected road wins at Marquette (5) and St. John's (6). In 2015-16 Creighton earned road wins at Villanova (7) and Butler (8), then the win over DePaul completed the set.

Flanery's BIG EAST Road Record (25-22)
Butler   2-3
DePaul   1-5
Georgetown   3-2
Marquette   3-3
Providence   4-1
Seton Hall   4-1
St. John's   3-2
Villanova   2-3
Xavier   3-2

Women's Basketball Begins Home BIG EAST Schedule Against Villanova on Friday

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Players Mentioned

Audrey Faber

Brooke Kissinger