Bluejays Throw Back Red Storm as WBB Posts 81-51 Win

Omaha, Neb. -- Playing in retro themed uniforms for Throwback Night, the Creighton Women's Basketball team defeated St. John's 81-51 on Wednesday, January 28. The win pushed the Bluejays to 9-12 on the season and 5-7 in BIG EAST action, while the Red Storm fell to 16-7 overall an 6-6 in conference contests.

Down 5-0 in the opening moments, the Bluejays returned to the program roots by 'Letting It Fly'. The result was a trio of treys as Neleigh Gessert connected twice and Allison Heathcock knocked down one from the top of the key. Grace Boffeli ignited the run with a bucket in the paint as Creighton soared out to an 11-5 lead (6:!3)

Leading 13-10 moments later the Bluejays took off once more, this time the result was seven straight, getting four from Kendall McGee and another trifecta from Neleigh Gessert to give Creighton a 20-10 lead. The Jays went on to hold a 22-13 edge after the opening frame.

Early in the second quarter the Red Storm closed within six at 26-20 (6:09), but the Jays cranked the Delorean back up to blast out on a 13-2 run. This surge was powered by trey from Neleigh Gessert and McGee, five from the charity stripe and another bucket from Boffeli. Leading 39-22 with 1:32 left in the half, Ava Zediker sent Creighton to the locker room with a 41-25 edge.

A dominant third quarter saw Creighton outscore St. John's 28-13, pushing its lead to as much as 33 at 69-36 (1:12) to put the game away. The tandem of Neleigh Gessert and Boffeli accounted for 10-1 run to open the stanza, started by a mid-range jumper from Neleigh Gessert. Boffeli followed with a layup, then Gessert found nothing but nylon from long range on back-to-back possessions to give Creighton a 51-26 lead (7:16). Six different Jays contributed over the final seven minutes of the frame as the advantage crossed 30 points on a driving layup from Zediker with 3:00 on the clock.

Zediker led five Bluejays in double digits with 18 points. Neleigh Zediker closed the game with 17 points, while Kendall McGee delivered 13 points. Grace Boffeli and Allison Heathcock rounded out the Jays in double-figures with 12 and 10 respectively.

St. John's got 14 points from Sa'Mya Wyatt, while Shaulana Wagner finished with 13.

The Bluejays return to action on Sunday, Feb. 1 as Creighton travels to New Jersey to face Seton Hall in a 2:00 pm (CT) on truTV & TNT.