Musketeers Drop Sunday Matinee Against Creighton

Sunday, February 17

Cincinnati, Ohio

2 p.m.

Xavier University

11-14, 2-12

Creighton

12-14, 6-9

Creighton

Xavier

Musketeers Drop Sunday Matinee Against Creighton

02.17.19 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats (PDF)

Sophomore Deja Ross scored a team-high 13 points to go along with six rebounds

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball dropped a 53-52 BIG EAST matchup with Creighton on Sunday afternoon at Cintas Center. The Musketeers moved to 11-14 (2-12 BIG EAST), while the Bluejays improved to 12-14 (6-9 BIG EAST).

The Musketeers led for nearly 33 minutes before the Bluejays engineered a fourth quarter comeback to pull off the win. Creighton outscored Xavier, 22-11, in the final frame and held the Musketeers without a field goal for the final three minutes of regulation.

FIRST HALF

• The opening quarter had two ties and one lead change with neither team leading by more than two possessions. Xavier led 12-11 after the first quarter behind four points each from A'riana Gray and Princess Stewart. The Musketeers did not commit a turnover in the opening frame.

• The Musketeers used an 8-2 run capped by a pair of Lauren Wasylson free throws to open the second quarter, taking a seven-point lead (20-13) at the media timeout (5:07). Xavier led 27-20 in the closing seconds before Creighton's Temi Carda hit a jump shot as time expired, making the score 27-22.

• Deja Ross led the Musketeers with eight points on 3-for-5 shooting at the break, while Princess Stewart added seven points. Ross also led the team on the glass with five rebounds.

• Creighton had three more rebounds (20-17) than Xavier, while the Musketeers had three more steals (3-0).

SECOND HALF

• Xavier opened the second stanza on a 7-2 run to take its first double-figure lead of the game, 34-24. The Musketeers pushed their lead to 14 (38-24) at the 6:06 mark before the Bluejays used a 7-3 to close the quarter and get within 10 (41-31).

• Xavier missed its first six baskets of the final quarter as the Bluejays used a 6-2 run to cut its deficit to six points (43-37) at the 6:11 mark. A three-point play by Temi Carda with 3:24 left in regulation gave the Bluejays its first lead (46-45) since the 8:48 mark in the second quarter.

• Xavier responded by using a 7-2 run capped by a pair of Lauren Wasylson free throws to take a four-point lead (52-48) at the 1:37 mark before Creighton scored five unanswered points to end the game and pull off the victory.

NOTABLES

• Sophomore Deja Ross led the Musketeers with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting, her sixth career game with 10 or more points. She added six rebounds and one steal.

• Freshman Lauren Wasylson added 11 points, two steals and three rebounds. She was 1-for-2 from the floor and 9-for-9 from the foul line. Xavier finished the game 14-for-16 from the charity stripe.

• Sophomore A'riana Gray pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight points. The forward now has 20 career games with 10 or more rebounds.

• Sophomore Princess Stewart added nine points and five rebounds, while classmate Aaliyah Dunham chipped in eight points.

• Defensively, Xavier held Creighton's top two scorers (Jaylyn Agnew and Audrey Faber) to only two points on 1-for-19 shooting. The two players combined to average 28.8 points per game entering Sunday's contest.

• Xavier committed a season-low six turnovers in the loss. Creighton won the battle on the glass, 38-33.

• The game featured six lead changes and four ties.

UP NEXT

• The Musketeers return to action on Friday, Feb. 22 at DePaul. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. ET from Wintrust Arena.

HIGHLIGHTS