We are profiling each member of the 2012-13 Creighton women’s basketball team. Join us weekdays leading up to the regular season tip-off against Oklahoma (November 10) for an introduction to this year’s Bluejays, from freshmen to seniors.
Garrison can drain it from deep, but is expanding her game (Spomer/WBR)
If you cross paths with Jordan Garrison, don’t dismiss her as a basketball player. Standing at 5’5″, Garrison is one of the shortest members of the women’s basketball team. But if you think she can’t play, then she might have an issue with you.
The junior from Osceola, Missouri, spent last season getting more playing time for the Bluejays. She overcame a stress fracture in her leg as a freshman and appeared in all 33 games last season, starting 7 of them, and averaging almost 15 minutes a game.
Despite the vertical challenges, Garrison is a good player, especially if you set her up from behind the arc. She can drain it from anywhere on the court. Although teammate Ally Jensen led the Bluejays in 3-pointers made last season, Garrison was making threes at the same rate as Jensen in only half the amount of playing time.
“If I had my preference, I would go to the gym and shoot all threes,” said Garrison. “But I have also learned that I need to also get to the rim, with my outside shot, and I can do that now. I also work on pull-ups and layups even though I don’t shoot those as often. But, mostly threes are what I work on the most.”
Garrison’s best game last season was a career-high 11 points against Evansville, going 4-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 from behind the arc. While she has had some flashes here and there with other stats, this season she is trying to become more than one dimensional. She spent her summer in the gym about two hours a day putting up more shots than she could count.
“I just want to get better all the way around. Obviously shooting is a big aspect for me. I want to come in and play defense better than I have before and just build on my strengths and weaknesses.”
There is a lot of drive in Garrison for the Bluejays to get back to the NCAA Tournament, but she feels it won’t be easy to do that.
“Honestly, I feel like we have a target on our back. It is a cool thing to have, especially since the first two years here we were the underdogs because we were so young. We are all really fired up and we want to make it back and do whatever it takes to get there.”
Being a veteran, Garrison may be asked to take on a bigger role as a leader on the team. But the team aspect is what drives her.
“I feel like each of us has a leadership role in a different aspect whether it is on the court or off the court. I am going to do my best to just be the best leader I can be.”
There are many challenges for the team this season. The first being injuries that has kept veterans like Carli Tritz and McKenzie Fujan among others out of practices.
“We already have so many injuries right now. So we are going to have to overcome that and realize it is a long season. We are going to have to be mentally prepared and focused. Just realize that we are going to have to dig in deep and when we get tired we just have to get through.”
Suffering through injuries of her own in the past, Garrison has learned from that experience.
“Right now I am good, knock on wood I am one hundred percent right now. I have just realized that I have to be smart when we are given days off. I have to take that to my advantage and rest up. So far, so good and hopefully it will stay that way for two more years.”
Garrison and the Bluejays will open the regular season, a week from Saturday, November 10, against Oklahoma at D.J. Sokol Arena.