Creighton Women Down DePaul, 70-50

OMAHA, Neb. – Powered by a 13-0 run to open the fourth quarter and a 17-point, 11 rebound double-double from graduate Grace Boffeli, the Creighton Women's Basketball team downed DePaul, 70-50, on Saturday, December 20 inside D.J. Sokol Arena. 
 
The victory pushed the Bluejays to 6-5 on the season and 2-0 in BIG EAST action as Creighton secured its third consecutive 20-point win over the Blue Demons. DePaul, meanwhile, fell to 3-11 overall and 0-3 in league play.
 
Creighton struggled to find their footing offensively in the opening period as the first 10 minutes saw the Jays turn it over seven times. DePaul took advantage of the Bluejays miscues, jumping out to an early 12-2 lead midway through the first quarter. Creighton answered with a pair of Boffeli layups and a pair a free throws from Kennedy Townsend to trim the deficit to 12-8 before DePaul scored eight of the final 10 point to take a 20-10 advantage into the second quarter. 
 
Trailing 25-12 with 5:14 remaining in the half, Creighton seized control with a 15-0 burst, capped off by a personal 8-0 run from Neleigh Gessert to take its first lead of the game at 27-25 (0:49). DePaul's Shakara McCline dialed up a three from the top of the key moments later, sending the Blue Demons into the locker room with a 28-27 lead. 
 
Coming out of the break, sophomore Allison Heathcock nailed back-to-back treys to put the Jays out in front for good at 33-29. Seven straight points from Boffeli pushed CU's advantage to 40-33, before an 8-2 Bluejay spurt, featuring layups from Heathcock and Ava Zediker and a jumper from Kendal McGee gave Creighton's its first double-digit lead of the contest at 48-37. 
 
DePaul cut the deficit to seven (48-41) on a layup from Natiah Nelson to open the fourth quarter, but the Blue Demons wouldn't get any closer as the Jays pushed its advantage to 20 (61-41) with a spirited 13-0 burst. DePaul countered with a 6-0 of their own to trim the Bluejay lead to 61-47, before Creighton pushed its lead to as much as 21 points on layups from Townsend (68-47) and Tara Dacic (70-49) late in the fourth quarter. 

Boffeli recorded her second double-double of the season, leading Creighton with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Heathcock (14) and Gessert (10) both finished in double figures. CU held a 23-9 advantage in points off of turnovers as the Jays forced 21 DePaul turnovers. All nine Bluejays scored in the contest as CU finished the afternoon shooting 40.3 percent from the field and 24 percent from behind the arc. 
 
DePaul was led by 11 points and nine rebounds from McCline, as the Blue Demons shot just 30 percent from the field and 19 percent from three-point land. 
 
The Bluejays return to the court on Monday, Dec. 22 when they play host to Seton Hall at 3 p.m. in D.J. Sokol Arena.