We are profiling each member of the 2011-12 Creighton women’s basketball team. Join us weekdays from now though November 4th for an introduction to this year’s Bluejays, from freshmen to seniors.
See all of our 2011-12 Creighton women’s basketball profiles
Tritz looks to lead the way for the Bluejays (Adam Streur/WBR)
The Creighton women’s basketball program took a collective gasp a month ago when Carli Tritz went down in one of the first team practices of the season. Valley foe Northern Iowa had already lost the MVC Player of the Year Jacqui Kalin for the season to a knee injury. There were fears that MVC Freshman of the Year Tritz would suffer the same fate.
Luckily, the injury just turned out to be a torn meniscus and Tritz was able to have surgery to repair it. A month later, with a new knee brace in hand, Tritz is back on the court.
Tritz starred for the Bluejays as a freshman last season. The numbers are staggering. She was named the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, captained the Valley All-Freshman team, and led the team in assists (98), steals (67) and field goal percentage (47.8%).
People were amazed with Doug McDermott’s string of MVC Newcomer of the Week awards on the men’s side with seven, but Tritz earned the same honor nine times in 17 weeks. Nine games into the season, Tritz entered the starting lineup and didn’t look back. She scored in double figures 21 times, was two assists short of 100 for the year, and made 54 of 75 free throws in the last 21 games. There’s obvious reason to be excited about Tritz and her talents, thanks to a stellar 2010-2011 season, but for her last year is in the past.
“Last season feels so long ago,” said Tritz. “I think I expect myself to be a leader this season. People noticed how I did because of my stats, but I want to be a leader on and off the floor this year. We have a very young but deep team this year and we will sort of fly under the radar, but I think I can help with the leadership. I would love to see this team finish in the top of the conference in the regular season and then win the tournament. We had a huge let down at the end of the year last year in our loss to UNI, and we were really close to finishing it out.”
This team belongs to Carli, and she already leads her teammates. She encourages players on the court, while also cheering them on from the sidelines. Only a sophomore, she is already a natural leader — one that Creighton fans will get to enjoy the next three seasons.
Although this year’s Bluejay team is young (9 of Jim Flanery’s 12 players are freshmen or sophomores), it also creates some good depth that Tritz is excited about.
“It is always a bonus to have a lot of players that the coaches feel comfortable with on the floor. It gives everyone the opportunity to play hard because you know there are girls ready to give you a rest and you are comfortable that they are in there. With the youth that is associated with our depth, I think we will surprise a lot of teams this year.”
As Tritz heads into her sophomore year, the schedule is something that makes Creighton attractive. Head coach Jim Flanery is not afraid to put together a tough schedule whether the games are at home or on the road. Tritz sees it as a great opportunity to create some great memories, just like playing at Notre Dame last season did.
“These are games that you remember your whole life. Playing in South Bend last year was a game I will never forget. We really want to get the crowd out there for these games and give us that great home court advantage. We will prepare for these games and we will be excited to play. They are really a great experience for everyone; players, coaches, family and fans.”
This season the Fighting Irish make a trip to Omaha on December 4. The season starts in earnest on Wednesday night, when the Bluejays host Rockhurst in an exhibition at D.J. Sokol Arena.
