Sunday, March 1
Cincinnati, Ohio
12:00 PM
Creighton University
15-14,11-9Big East
73
at
71
Xavier
11-18,4-16Big East
1
2
3
4
F
Creighton
18
12
16
27
73
Xavier
17
22
13
19
71
Photo by: Caleb Christensen
Bluejay Women's Basketball Rallies for 73-71 Win at Xavier
3/1/2026 6:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Cincinnati, Ohio -- Trailing by as much as 14 midway through the third quarter and down nine early in the final frame, Creighton Women's Basketball rallied to down 73-71 on a late trey from senior Kennedy Townsend on Sunday, March 1.
The win lifted Creighton to 15-14 on the season and 11-9 in BIG EAST action, while Xavier fell to 11-18 overall and 4-16 in conference contests.
Down 55-46 in the opening moments of the fourth quarter scored eight straight as Allison Heathcock drained a triple, then Grace Boffeli delivered consecutive interior buckets to get within a point at 55-54 (7:54). The Musketeers responded with five straight only to see Norah Gessert connect from well behind NBA distance.Â
Creighton closed within one point three more times in the final frame, but Xavier held Creighton off each time.
Trailing 71-69 with under 20 seconds remaining, head coach Jim Flanery used his second to last timeout. The play called for Townsend to fire from range if the shot presented. Xavier, however, denied the inbounds play, forcing the Bluejays to adjust. Creighton moved the ball around for eight seconds, eventually finding Townsend space near NBA distance. The Kansas City native didn't hesitate, splashing home the game winning shot.
Early in the game the Bluejays raced out to a 10-0 advantage, but Xavier's Meri Kanerva went 6-for-7 from the field including four treys to deliver 16 points in 20 minutes. As a team the Musketeers went 9-for-13, hitting 69.2% from the field to take a 39-30 lead into halftime.
Boffeli led the Bluejays with 20 points and 10 rebounds for her 46th career double-double. It was her ninth as a Bluejay, during the 2025-26 season. Norah Gessert closed the contest with a career-high 17 points, while Heathcock delivered 13.Â
Xavier got 19 points from Kanerva, 16 from MacKenzie Givens, 13 from Mariyah Noel and 10 points from Vivien Nejasmic
Both the Bluejays and Musketeers will travel to Connecticut for the BIG EAST Tournament next weekend. Xavier enters the Tournament as the No. 11 seed, while Creighton is awaiting the final game of the need to find out if the Bluejays will be No. 6 or No. 5. If UConn defeats St. John's, Creighton earns the five seed and a meeting with No. 4 Marquette. Should St. John's upset the top-ranked Huskies, Creighton would face Xavier as the six seed.
The win lifted Creighton to 15-14 on the season and 11-9 in BIG EAST action, while Xavier fell to 11-18 overall and 4-16 in conference contests.
Down 55-46 in the opening moments of the fourth quarter scored eight straight as Allison Heathcock drained a triple, then Grace Boffeli delivered consecutive interior buckets to get within a point at 55-54 (7:54). The Musketeers responded with five straight only to see Norah Gessert connect from well behind NBA distance.Â
Creighton closed within one point three more times in the final frame, but Xavier held Creighton off each time.
Trailing 71-69 with under 20 seconds remaining, head coach Jim Flanery used his second to last timeout. The play called for Townsend to fire from range if the shot presented. Xavier, however, denied the inbounds play, forcing the Bluejays to adjust. Creighton moved the ball around for eight seconds, eventually finding Townsend space near NBA distance. The Kansas City native didn't hesitate, splashing home the game winning shot.
Early in the game the Bluejays raced out to a 10-0 advantage, but Xavier's Meri Kanerva went 6-for-7 from the field including four treys to deliver 16 points in 20 minutes. As a team the Musketeers went 9-for-13, hitting 69.2% from the field to take a 39-30 lead into halftime.
Boffeli led the Bluejays with 20 points and 10 rebounds for her 46th career double-double. It was her ninth as a Bluejay, during the 2025-26 season. Norah Gessert closed the contest with a career-high 17 points, while Heathcock delivered 13.Â
Xavier got 19 points from Kanerva, 16 from MacKenzie Givens, 13 from Mariyah Noel and 10 points from Vivien Nejasmic
Both the Bluejays and Musketeers will travel to Connecticut for the BIG EAST Tournament next weekend. Xavier enters the Tournament as the No. 11 seed, while Creighton is awaiting the final game of the need to find out if the Bluejays will be No. 6 or No. 5. If UConn defeats St. John's, Creighton earns the five seed and a meeting with No. 4 Marquette. Should St. John's upset the top-ranked Huskies, Creighton would face Xavier as the six seed.
Team Stats
CU
XU
FG%
.429
.492
3FG%
.370
.438
FT%
.563
.667
RB
34
33
TO
13
16
STL
12
4
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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