Creighton Women Defeat Georgetown, 64-62

Omaha, Neb. -- Freshman Neleigh Gessert delivered 31 points, while Grace Boffeli grabbed 17 rebounds to lift Creighton Women's Basketball to a 64-62 win over Georgetown on Wednesday, February 4.
 
The win moved the Bluejays to 11-12 on the season and 7-7 in BIG EAST action, while the Hoyas fell to 12-11 overall and 5-9 in conference contests.

Leading 60-59 with just under two minutes remaining, the Bluejays saw Georgetown's Brianna Byers sink just her fifth three-pointer of the season. Moments later on the offensive end, Boffeli was left all alone as the Hoyas went to double team Neleigh Gessert. The result was a tie game at 62-62 (1:21).

After a Creighton stop on the defensive end, each team committed a turnover without attempting a shot to give the Bluejays the ball with 6.8 seconds remaining. After advancing the ball with a timeout, Creighton head coach Jim Flanery designed a play to get the ball to a cutting player towards the basket. The inbounds pass went to Boffeli and Georgetown immediately had two defenders jump the pass.

The sixth-year grab student faked a pass, wheeled to her left and found a wide-open layup to give Creighton the lead at 64-62. Georgetown responded by calling its final timeout, but its shot was off the mark as the Bluejays celebrated the win and Boffeli continued to celebrate her birthday.
 
Creighton raced out to a 14-4 lead (5:19), getting a pair of treys from both Allison Heathcock and Neleigh Gessert. Senior Kennedy Townsend dropped in the first Bluejay points with a driving layup. Coming out of the first media timeout, Georgetown gathered itself to close within six at 19-13 by the close of the quarter.

Both teams went cold in the second quarter, but the Hoyas shook free first, using a 10-3 run to grab their first lead at 23-22 (2:54). Delivering six of Creighton's seven points in the frame, Neleigh Gessert delivered back-to-back buckets to reclaim the edge for the Bluejays at 26-25 in the final minute, but Georgetown took a 27-26 lead into the locker room.

Down 31-26 early in the third, Ava Zediker torched the Hoyas for 11 points in the frame. Zediker's efforts combined with nine from Neleigh Gessert and four by Boffeli helped Creighton take a 50-44 edge into the final frame.

Ten more points from the Omaha native, Neleigh Gessert, helped Creighton stay afloat in the fourth, including back-to-back three pointers from to give Creighton a 60-59 lead with 3:12 remaining.

Neleigh Gessert led all scorers with 31 points, while Ava Zediker contributed 11 points. Boffeli finished with nine points, including the game-winning layup, and 17 rebounds in the contest.

Gessert's 31-point performance the most by a freshman since at least the 1998-99 season. Boffeli's 17-rebound effort tied for the 10th highest single game performance in Bluejay history.
 
Georgetown got 21 points from Destiny Arubata and 17 from Brianna Scott.
 
The Bluejays return to action on Sunday, February 8 as Creighton hosts Marquette on FS1 at 12:00 pm in D.J. Sokol Arena.