Creighton Women’s Basketball Looks to Rebound at Home Against Xavier
The Creighton Bluejays are back where they want to be. After a stretch of narrow road losses, Creighton returns to D.J. Sokol Arena tonight for a pivotal BIG EAST matchup against the Xavier Musketeers. The homecoming arrives at the right moment, offering the Bluejays a chance to reset.
BIG EAST Stakes and Recent Form of Creighton Women’s Basketball
Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, in Omaha, with the game streaming live on ESPN+. With both teams sitting at 3–6 in BIG EAST play, the stakes are clear and the margin for error is thin.
Bluejays back home Tuesday to take on the Musketeers.
— Creighton Women’s Basketball (@CreightonWBB) January 20, 2026
📰: https://t.co/lebAifNYBV#GoJays pic.twitter.com/US3NN0DOTU
Creighton enters the matchup with a 7–11 overall record, still searching for momentum after a heartbreaking 80–77 loss at Providence on Saturday. In that game, the Bluejays had a chance to force overtime in the final seconds before a potential tying three was blocked. Xavier arrives in Omaha at 10–8 overall, also looking to bounce back after a narrow 66–64 defeat against St. John’s.
Both teams are coming off emotional losses, and with identical conference records, tonight’s winner gains valuable ground in the BIG EAST standings. Creighton was paced last time out by senior Kennedy Townsend. She scored 18 points, while Xavier’s Mariyah Noel is fresh off a dominant performance of 30 points, five assists, and nine rebounds.
The defining storyline of Creighton’s 2025–26 season has been the emergence of its freshman class. Together, they have scored 599 total points this season, averaging 33.3 points per game, the fourth-highest freshman scoring output in the NCAA.
Their influence goes beyond raw scoring. Creighton’s freshmen lead the nation in three-point field goals per game, averaging 5.2 makes per contest. Creighton’s scoring race has been a steady exchange all season. Ava Zediker leads the team with a scoring average of 13.1 points per game, while Neleigh Gessert has totaled 213 points on the year.
Numbers That Shape the Matchup
This season has delivered tough lessons. Creighton has played four games decided by five points or fewer and has fallen short in all four. While frustrating, program history offers reassurance. During the 2020–21 season, a freshman-heavy lineup endured similar growing pains in close contests before maturing into an Elite Eight team the following year and fueling four straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Creighton averages 68.2 points per game while allowing 69.4, resulting in a minus 1.2 scoring margin. The Bluejays rank 11th nationally in three-pointers made at 9.3 per game, which is 2.6 more than their opponents. Over the last 10 games, Creighton has averaged 69.7 points per contest.
Defensively, improvement is key. Creighton has allowed five of its last seven opponents to shoot better than 50 percent from the field. Ball security will also matter, as the Bluejays have totaled 109 assists against 122 turnovers over the last eight games.
The series history strongly favors Creighton. The Bluejays lead the all-time matchup 20–2 and have won the last 16 meetings. Xavier has never won at D.J. Sokol Arena, where Creighton holds a perfect 10–0 record.
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Shayni Maitra is a sports girl through and through writing about everything from locker room drama to game-day legends in the NFL and NBA. She’s covered the action for outlets like College Sports Network, Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, NB Media, and PinkVilla, blending sharp takes with a deep love for storytelling. Whether it’s college football rivalries, Olympic gold-chasers, or the off-field chaos that keeps Twitter alive, Shayni brings the heat with heart—and just the right amount of humor.