Over 41 seasons, the Creighton women’s basketball program has a storied history of team accomplishments — five NCAA Tournament appearances, nine WNIT appearances including a championship in 2004 — and individually, has been well-represented on all-conference teams. One thing they’ve never had is an All-American.
Until now.
Sophomore Marissa Janning, fresh off a season in which she scored 599 points (17.6 points per game), was named an honorable mention All-American by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). She led Creighton with 132 assists, free throws (141) , free throw attempts (165) as well as free throw percentage (.855). In the record book, her 599 points in a single-season ranks third in school history, while her 141 made free throws ranks fifth in one season.
Janning became just the third player in Creighton history to reach the 1,000-point mark in two seasons or less during the Bluejays’ last home game of the 2013-14 season. The sophomore guard was one of eight Big East Conference players to eclipse the 30-point mark in a game this season and one of just four to do it more than once.
The Big East Player of the Year, Janning was also a unanimous selection to the All-Big East first team. She was a frequently unstoppable force offensively, such as on February 5 when she tied a DJ Sokol Arena record with 38 points on 13-23 shooting (5-9 from three-point range and 7-8 free throws) to go along with nine rebounds in a 75-61 win over Georgetown. She also had a 34-point game January 11 at Providence, going 13-of-17 from the field and 6-of-9 from beyond the arc, a 29-point game at home against Xavier and a 28-point game at Seton Hall.
Four other players from the Big East Conference achieved All-America Honorable Mention as DePaul’s Jasmine Penny and Brittany Hrynko as well as Marquette’s Katherine Plouffe and St. John’s Aliyyah Handford each were a member of the All-America Honorable Mention team.
