Women's Basketball Takes On Long Time Rival Drake on Sunday

Omaha, Neb. -- Creighton Women's Basketball takes the court against the team its played the most in program history as the Bluejays face Drake for the 74th time on Sunday, November 9 at 4:00 pm in Des Moines.

11/9: - 4:00 p.m. - Creighton (0-1) at Drake (1-0)

Twitter: @GoCreighton, @CreightonWBB

Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=617209

Radio - 1180 AM: https://player.listenlive.co/52381

Online Stream: ESPN+
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/8cefb586-8b91-4f35-bc3a-89a3089b9c55

Series with Drake: Bluejays Trail 43-30
Home: 14-16 Away: 11-25 Neutral: 4-2
Creighton's overall series with Drake began in 1977. Drake holds the advantage 43-30, but the Bluejays have won the last three meetings. The last game at Drake saw Creighton down the Bulldogs 89-78.

Series (Last 25)
Date Opponent Score
1/31/09 at Drake W, 77-57
2/27/09 Drake L, 44-51
3/14/09 % vs. Drake $ W, 53-35
1/29/10 Drake W, 74-61
2/26/10 at Drake W, 77-57
3/12/10 % vs. Drake $ W, 65-62
12/31/10 Drake W, 58-51
3/5/11 at Drake L, 54-65
12/31/11 Drake L, 44-47
3/3/12 at Drake L, 50-54
3/11/12 % vs. Drake $ W, 53-38
2/2/13 at Drake W, 98-71
3/3/13 Drake W, 67-66
11/8/13 at Drake L, 55-62
12/14/14 Drake W, 93-71
11/24/15 at Drake L, 72-81
11/17/16 Drake W, 80-77
12/3/17 at Drake W, 108-100 (4ot)
11/28/18 #24 Drake L, 69-85
11/16/19 at Drake L, 53-63
11/25/20 Drake L, 62-75
11/10/21 at Drake L, 79-82
12/10/22 Drake W, 75-71
12/7/23 at Drake W, 89-78
11/11/24 Drake W, 80-72
% = played in St. Charles, Mo.
© = Game played at CHI Health Center Omaha
$ = MVC Tournament game

Flanery vs. Drake
Flanery is 20-19 against Drake and is 3-1 against current Bulldog head coach Allison Pohlman.

Takeoff History
The Bluejays are 22-30 in season openers, including the loss to SDSU. The Bluejays are 35-17 in home openers and 14-37 in road openers.

Under head coach Jim Flanery Creighton is 10-14 in the first game of the season and 17-7 in home openers.

About Drake

Located in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Bulldogs went 22-12 last season, reaching the First Round of the WBIT Tournament.
Head coach Allison Pohlman has led Drake to four
postseason berths, including two NCAA Tournaments.
The Bulldogs return one of five starters from last season, Abbie Aalsma (9.7 ppg).
Missouri Valley Conference put out players to watch for the Bulldogs this upcoming 2025-26 season, which included Abbie Aalsma, Anna Becker, Ava Hawthorne, and Mylea Monahan.

About Drake Head Coach Allison Pohlman

Allison Pohlman will begin her 5th season at Drake.
She has a 93-42 overall record and has become the first coach in Drake women's basketball history to win 20+ games in her first four consecutive seasons.
Last season, she guided the Bulldogs to an at-large bid in the WBIT.

Scouting Drake (1-0)
Ahead of their 72nd meeting with the Creighton Bluejays, the Bulldogs started the season on a high note, dominating Eastern Illinois on the road, 83-65.

The 18-point victory margin was aided by dominant double-digit performances from Abbie Aalsma and Anna Becker. The veteran-rookie pair accounted for 44 of Drake's 83 points.

Sophomore Peyton McCabe also orchestrated the offense, distributing 10 assists in the contest.

Adding to the Bulldogs' display, sophomore Maggie Taylor recorded a double-double, notching 11 points and controlling the glass with a team-high 16 rebounds.

This season, Drake is without Jackie Stiles Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year winner Katie Dinnebier, who averaged 23.4 points her senior year with the Bulldogs.

Returners include Aalsma, senior Katie Hawthorne and junior Shannon Fornshell.

Scouting Creighton (0-0)
Looking ahead to their first road game this season against Drake, the Bluejays look to bounce back after dropping their season opener to South Dakota State, 78-62.

After falling behind at the end of each of the first two quarters, 18-13 and 38-30 at halftime, the Bluejays outscored the Jackrabbits in the third quarter to cut the deficit to just five, but couldn't quite complete the comeback.

The freshman and senior duo of Ava Zediker and Kennedy Townsend combined for half (31) of Creighton's 62 points on the night.

Zediker had a particularly impressive college debut, racking up a team-high 17 points in 28 minutes. Townsend trailed close behind her freshman teammate with 14 points, helped by four three pointers.

In the last three meetings between the Bluejays and Bulldogs, Creighton won all three, with two victories at home and one on the road.

Twin Powers Activate
Creighton has thrived recruiting including in-state talent and Omaha natives, Norah and Neleigh Gessert. They know what it takes to win including winning back-to-back state championships in Nebraska Class A and going a record of 55-2 in their junior and senior year of high school.

Neleigh leads Millard West in points with 1,542 and has the single season record with 520 points in her junior year, she also leads in blocks with 152. Norah on the other hand is the leader in at Millard West with 399 and broke the single season record with 163 in her senior year.

Across all of Creighton Athletics, there have been 15 known sets of twins or triplets to play in the same sport.

Men's Basketball (1): Gary & Glen McCracker (1985- 86)
Women's Basketball (1): Neleigh & Norah Gessert (2025- present)
Men's Golf (2): Aaron & Adam Tschuor (2001-05); Joe & Tom Zaccone (1987-91)
Women's Cross Country (1): Nikki & Tara Novotney (1991-94)
Rowing (2): Taylor & Payton Genis (2015-16); Joy & Mary Dobrauc (two of triplets) (1998-2002)
Men's Soccer (1): Cameron & Dominic Briggs (2018)
Women's Soccer (2): Katy & Ally Peetz (2004-07); Maia & Shani Sirota (2023)
Softball (2): Alex & Mac Millspaugh (2014); Brittanee & Malloree Grove (two of triplets) (2011)
Women's Tennis (3): Sarah & Leesa Cadwallader (2007-2011); Jeanne & Jenny Daker (1995-2000); Kim & Lisa Lamberti (1985-87)

The Dogs Have Left the Building
For the first time since the 2014-15 season, the Creighton bench does not include a Bulldog alum.

Linda Sayavongchanh joined the Creighton staff prior to the 2015-16 season through the end of the 2021-22 Elite Eight campaign. Meanwhile Jordann (Plummer) Reese joined the Bluejay bench before the 2020-21 season, departing after then 2024-25 campaign.

Iowa Roots Run Deep for Creighton WBB
From Guthrie Center, Iowa, Creighton head coach Jim Flanery is in his 24th season at the helm. Before Flan took the reigns, Connie Yori (Ankeny, Iowa) and Bruce Rasmussen (Webster City, Iowa) take the Bluejay head coaching tree back to 1980 and both started their journey in Iowa.

Zediker Provides Glimpse of Bluejay Future Against Jacks
Des Moines native Ava Zediker provided a glimpse of what Bluejay fans hope is a bright future in the third quarter against South Dakota State in the season opener on Nov. 3. With two points in the opening half, Ava torched the Jackrabbits for 11 points in seven minutes during the third quarter. She closed the contest with a team leading 17 points.

The last time a freshman led Creighton in scoring in the season opener was another Dowling Catholic graduate as Audrey Faber led Creighton with 14 points in her Bluejay debut at the onset of the 2015-16 season.

Women's Basketball Takes On Long Time Rival Drake on Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Neleigh Gessert

Norah Gessert

Kennedy Townsend

Ava Zediker

Women's Basketball Takes On Long Time Rival Drake on Sunday

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Neleigh Gessert

Norah Gessert

Kennedy Townsend

Ava Zediker

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