Four Musketeers Reach Double Figures in Two-Point Loss vs Creighton

Sunday, March 1

Cincinnati, Ohio

1 p.m.

Xavier University

11-18,4-16Big East

Creighton

15-14,11-9Big East

Creighton

Xavier

Four Musketeers Reach Double Figures in Two-Point Loss vs Creighton

03.01.26 | Women's Basketball

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Meri Kanerva scored a team-high 19 points on Sunday afternoon

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Four Musketeers reached double figures in Sunday's 73-71 loss to Creighton at Cintas Center.

The Musketeers moved to 11-18 (4-16 BIG EAST), while the Bluejays improved to 15-14 (11-9 BIG EAST).

Xavier returns to action in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament on Friday, March 6. The Musketeers will be the No. 11 seed and take on No. 6 seed St. John's at 4 p.m. from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

NOTABLES

The game featured two lead changes and zero ties. Xavier led for 29:36, while Creighton led for 9:58.
The Musketeers led by as many as 14 points (44-30) with 9:07 left in the third quarter. Creighton outscored Xavier, 16-8, on 7-for-14 shooting to close the frame - closing within six points (52-46) with 10 minutes left in the game.
Creighton outscored Xavier, 27-19, on 9-for-17 shooting in the final quarter to pull off the come-from-behind victory.
Xavier led by two points, 71-69, with 22 seconds left in regulation. Kennedy Townsend hit at three pointer with 14 seconds left on the clock to give the Bluejays their first lead since the closing seconds of the first quarter.
A Norah Gessert free throw with seven seconds left gave the Bluejays a 73-71 advantage. Following a Xavier timeout to advance the ball, a Meri Kanerva three pointer as time expired fell short as Creighton escaped Cintas Center with the win.
Meri Kanerva scored a team-high 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting. The guard added four assists. She also made a career-high five 3-pointers.
MacKenzie Givens added 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting. She added four rebounds and one assist.
Mariyah Noel scored 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting. The guard added four rebounds and three assists. Noel now has 509 career points.
Vivien Nejašmić rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting. She added three rebounds, three assists and one block.
Savannah White pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds (matched her career high). She added seven points, seven assists (career high) and three steals. White is now four rebounds shy of 500 career rebounds and 16 points away from 500 career points.
Xavier posted a season-high .492 field-goal percentage (29-for-59) and went 7-for-16 from behind the arc. The Musketeers were also 6-for-9 from the foul line.
Xavier had 19 assists, tied for the second most assists in a game this season. The Musketeers have four games with 19 or more assists on the year.
The 29 made field goals are also a season high for the Musketeers. The 70 points are the second most in a BIG EAST game for Xavier this season.
Creighton won the battle on the glass, 34-33, and scored four more second-chance points (19-15). The Bluejays also held an 18-10 advantage in points off of turnovers and scored five more fastbreak points (14-9).
Xavier scored two more points in the paint (30-28) and held a 13-10 advantage in bench points.
Creighton posted a .429 field-goal percentage (27-for-63) and went 10-for-27 from behind the arc. The Bluejays were also 9-for-16 from the foul line.
Grace Boffeli led three Bluehays in double figures with a game-high 20 points. She also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.