Jensen is excited to play her senior season and get back to the NCAA Tournament (Spomer/WBR)
Ally Jensen enters her senior year as one of Creighton’s all-time great shooters, ranking 10th in school history with 148 career three-pointers. With Sarah Nelson and Alyssa Kamphaus drawing attention down low, Jensen’s presence on the perimeter will be a key in preventing opposing defenses from sending careless double teams into the paint.
Jensen has played in every game since her Creighton career started back in 2009-10. She started all 32 games last season, and should do the same this year as she looks to add more leadership to an experienced Bluejay squad. Fortunately for Creighton it is a role she takes on willingly.
“I think we lost a great leader in DaNae [Moore]. Me being a senior, obviously leadership comes with it. Getting a lot of minutes in the past, and having a lot of experience, I feel like I’m more equipped to be a leader, and I’m excited for that responsibility.”
She has been part of a growing trend of success for Jim Flanery’s team, having played in the postseason each year of her career. Coming off a 20-win season that saw the team win the MVC Tournament crown and come up just three points shy of upsetting St. John’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the expectations for this team are higher than any of the others Jensen has played on. Perhaps one reflection of her leadership is that the bar of excellence being raised only seems to act as a motivator for her and her teammates.
“The way we ended last season gave us a lot of confidence,” said Jensen. “It helped us this summer in the preseason to stay motivated. We experienced success, and we know how much work it took to get there. That really helped us work hard for this season. It gave us that confidence in the back of our minds that we did this before, and we can do it again if we do the right things.”
When asked if she believes there is a sense of urgency to get rolling early in order to meet the expectations, she dismissed it, saying, “I don’t think we are feeling any anxiety or pressure that we have to get back to where we were, but I think since we have been there before, we know how hard it’s going to be and we know what it takes. I don’t think we have any anxiety or nerves that we have to do everything right from the start. We know it’s still a process, and things are going to happen along the way. We just need to work hard every day, and we can hopefully repeat.”
That may be a more calculated approach due to the daunting task that lies ahead for Jensen and the Jays. Creighton will open their season with a home game against No. 12 Oklahoma. They would have faced the Sooners in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season had the Jays prevailed over St. John’s. The Jays have lost their eight games against a ranked opponent, but if you ask Jensen, she wouldn’t want to be facing anyone but the best.
“I love Flan’s schedules. I love the opportunity that I get to play here, because it’s exciting to get to play Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska at home to begin the year. That’s a great opportunity. If you’re any kind of athlete or competitor you just love that. We’re excited to have another crazy good schedule, and we’re really looking forward to that first game.”
That attitude and genuine desire of this group to take on the best started last season when third-ranked Notre Dame visited the Jays. The Fighting Irish may have walked away with a 76-48 victory, but the experience of competing with an elite team gave the Jensen and her teammates confidence.
“I don’t think we were totally prepared for what we were getting ourselves into, but getting that game under our belts, and knowing the level that we have to play at helped us to practice and prepare, and continue to get better every day”, said the senior guard. “When we saw St. John’s we knew that we had faced an opponent like them before, and we believed and trusted in our coaches, in our game plan, and in each other that we could compete with them and be in the game.”
The Jays will look to translate that confidence into a season-opening upset of No. 12 Oklahoma this Saturday afternoon at D.J. Sokol Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.