In a span of 10 days, the Bluejay women play four home games. It’s always important to win at home in the Valley, but to say that these four games are important is quite the understatement.
Missouri State comes to town sitting in second place, trailing Northern Iowa by 0.5 games. Next up, the Jays play host to some of the worst teams in the conference. In other words, fourth-to-last place Wichita State, last place Southern Illinois, and second-to-last place Evansville will come to town to round out the four-game homestand.
The importance of these games is not exactly because of who we are playing, but because of who’s playing while we’re playing. AKA when Coach Jim Flanery’s squad is playing a mess of subpar teams, first and second place Northern Iowa and Missouri State will be playing their toughest stretches of the conference season. UNI faces off with three of the top five teams in the league over their next five games, including both Missouri State and Creighton. Meanwhile, MSU’s upcoming four-game stretch includes Creighton and fifth place Drake on the road, before hosting the league leading UNI Panthers.
Ultimately, this gives Creighton the opportunity to put themselves in the driver’s seat after 160 minutes of basketball. Not a bad situation to be in if you ask me. 120 minutes of winning basketball in the next four games isn’t much to ask for given the opponents, but 160 minutes is not an easy task. MSU had the Jays’ number last year as they swept the season series (kind of like the MSU men this year, no?), and will be no easier of a test this year.
Missouri State: The preseason favorite Bears (15-4, 6-1) are winners of four straight games, all by 10 points or more. They are perfect in the Valley outside of their lone hiccup, a 69-80 loss to UNI in Cedar Falls. Despite going 0-2 vs. BCS conference schools (home vs. DePaul and at then #20 Georgetown) during non-conference play, their RPI is a Valley best and climbed from 40 to 34 this past week. Coach Nyla Milleson’s squad is led by 2010 MVC Player of the Year Casey Garrison. The 6-foot junior guard averages 16.8 points (good for second in the conference) and 3.6 assists per game. Her sidekick in the post is sophomore Christiana Shorter who sits atop the conference with 8.3 boards per game in addition to her 12.4 points per game. She’s also happens to be the reigning MVC Player of the Week. Another sophomore, Tia Mays, sits atop the nation as the only player under 6-feet and 4-inches with 3.8 blocks per game or more. It puts her at sixth in the nation when including players of all sizes (this statistic is brought to you by Anti-Height Discrimination Services).
How to Beat Missouri State: To be frank, the Jays simply need to play very well. And I mean very, very well. One advantage for Coach Flanery is that by now, he knows exactly what to expect. This is nearly the same team as last year. The Bears lost a single senior and gained three freshmen that receive limited playing time. This ultimately means that Casey Garrison is still really good. Last year in Omaha she gave the Jays fits. By fits, I mean she was a rebound and two assists away from a triple-double. By fits, I also mean she was also just a rebound, two assists, and five steals away from a quadruple-double. Yeah, she’s alright. Look for veteran Sam Schuett to be matched up with Garrison defensively. Flanery will use Schuett’s athleticism in an attempt to bother her and keep her out of her rhythm. Schuett’s combination of size and quickness will provide Garrison with a new and challenging look. Offensively, the Jays will need to shoot the ball effectively. Tia Mays’ blocking presence is Brittney Griner-esque (probably because she sits just four spots behind her nationally in blocks). In its lone home Valley loss to UNI, Creighton shot just 3-19 from distance, yet had the ball in the final seconds with a chance to win. 3-19 just doesn’t cut it, and certainly doesn’t beat a zone. They Jays proved in that game that they can play well, but that they can’t beat a top team without shooting the ball at least decently. If they can find the bottom of the bucket consistently, the Bears could easily walk away with their second loss in conference play. Though ice cold shooting could equate to a disastrous outcome for the Bluejays.
Prediction: 65-63 Jays. Sophomore point guard Ally Jensen is arguably Creighton’s best shooter. I’m not sure what the statistic is, but when she hits three or more treys, the Jays’ record has got to be pretty darn good. She is shooting just 6-25 from downtown in conference play meaning that #20 is due for a great shooting night. They will need a spark from someone outside of the Kelsey Woodard/Sam Schuett/Carli Tritz trio who all average over ten points a game.
