After winning eight of nine games including three straight, the Creighton women’s basketball team fell short in its final five games. It wasn’t the type of finish the team hoped for, though it doesn’t necessarily overshadow a season that was highlighted by a win over Big East power Marquette and a fourth consecutive postseason appearance.
Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year Carli Tritz had time to talk to White and Blue Review. The guard from Sioux City, Iowa averaged 11.4 points per game and had a team-best 98 assists this season, which earned her All-MVC Honorable Mention honors as well.
White and Blue Review: Let’s start off with the tough question. What was difference the last five games of the season?
Carli Tritz: I don’t think it was in practice where you could tell something was developing that was going downhill. It was just like you could tell that we were going to be hot or cold every night, and that’s the inconsistency we feared a little bit towards the second half of the season, I think. There was like a three-game stretch where we were shooting over 60 percent, and then we would go down and shoot like 29 or 30 some percent some games. So I think it was just the fact that we were a little inconsistent on offense and the second our defense slips everything kind of falls apart. We would let teams go on runs and then, because we weren’t shooting great, we just couldn’t get back in the game.
WBR: Your final three regular season games were on the road and two of those games were the opposing team’s Senior Night. Do you think that had any effect on how tough they played you – playing off of emotion possibly?
CT: Yeah, definitely the games we were scheduled at the end of the season weren’t easy wins, so they weren’t givens at all. All three of them, Wichita State, Missouri State, and Drake, were huge games for them. Two senior nights, and then we beat Wichita in overtime (in January), so it adds the whole revenge factor, and then we knew we were playing for second place. It’s huge that if you win at Drake, you’re second place, if you lose, you’re fourth. There was a lot of pressure in the last couple games, but by no means is it anyone else’s fault but our own.
WBR: Did you feel at all that you might have lost focus by playing to win just one of your last three games to secure the second seed instead of taking it one game at a time?
CT: We were just so close to locking it up, the last two weeks of the season – we were a half a game ahead. Then it was like we’re right there, so we have to win. When the pressure started building, I don’t think we necessarily cracked, we just knew that we couldn’t lose, so we were a group playing not to lose. That just affects everything. When we’re as inconsistent as we were offensively, you just don’t know what you’re going to get when you have those feelings mixed with it too.
WBR: How difficult is it going to be without the seniors around anymore?
CT: It’s going to be really weird. I’m going to notice it today – we have a team meeting – and it has only been a FEW weeks and I think I already miss seeing them every day. It’s just weird; when we hang out they say they’re not going to be at practice tomorrow or at lifting. They are more than leaders and they are more than teammates. They truly are best friends. I think that I’m lucky to have had one year with them. We’ve made friendships that are going to last a lifetime. I’m definitely going to miss them. I’ll miss three pointers; Kellie down low; Sam doing all the hard work, the little dirty plays and everything like that. They all contribute so much, on the court and off the court. They are going to be a big loss for us next year.
WBR: What are the biggest things that you’ve learned from them?
CT: Leadership. How to handle adversity on your team throughout the season, like injuries, and the fact that we had so many young freshman on the team, and just the pressures that come with it. Our first college game, they were great about helping us. You’ve got the nerves; it’s your first home game, first conference game. We had so many firsts this year, but it’s like their sixth and seventh. So the leadership they gave us, I think, is something I’m going to take on. I’ve learned from them a lot.
WBR: At this point you’ve got one season under your belt. What was the most surprising thing about your freshman year?
CT: I know I’ve been asked a lot about expectations throughout the whole season. Our true team expectations were, first, we wanted to win the league, and when that didn’t happen we wanted to get second and we wanted to win the conference tournament, and go on to the NCAA. I think the expectations that we set were definitely attainable, but we were disappointed we didn’t reach them. We’re kind of right there right now. Postseason is going to be good for us, and good workouts will get us back to where we want to be with those expectations again. Personally, I never thought that I would be starting, to be honest, I didn’t think a lot of the awards would come like they did, but they are also team accomplishments, too. I can’t get those things without having people back me up. It was their passes for my points, and my passes for their points. I know my name is on it, but there are a lot of other people behind it, too. It was a good year; a lot of expectations were exceeded, except maybe the NCAA tournament one.
WBR: What are you personally planning to work on this offseason?
CT: Ball handling, toughness, not only physical strength, but I need to work on mental toughness and more of like a leadership role. If I’m going to play point guard more than wing, then I need to be the best I can be at both of them. So just being able to switch from passing mostly and dribbling mostly, to shooting and driving, those two positions, I need to get better at them. Then free throws and jumpers, after that. That’s the core of everything, a good jumper.
WBR: Next season you’ll be the player in the program with all the hype. Other teams will focus on stopping you and with that point guard role and without the seniors here, how do you plan on handling the leadership role and the pressure?
CT: I haven’t thought too much about it because we just got done, but I need to start thinking about that. I think that’s the first step, when you realize that my role is definitely going to change, not just point scoring and numbers, but leadership-wise. I know that our whole class needs to just because we are so young. The fact that we have one year under our belt is a lot for this team, because we are so young. I think a leadership role, maybe it can start with me or with somebody else in our class, but everyone needs to help these new freshmen out. Even in our class, because Riley (Norman) will be coming back, and people will be getting more playing time, so everyone is just going to be open to new experiences. The leadership role that I think I should take on is helping all that I can with what I know, but also being willing to learn. A good leader knows when they are wrong, when to learn, and to show that mistakes can be coming from them too. Just learning and helping others learn is a big one.
WBR: What is the team looking to focus on this offseason?
CT: Lifting, we always want to get stronger because if you stop lifting you always get a couple steps behind, so we are going to keep lifting. I think that offense kind of surprised us this year, so I think that we are going to look for scorers to come up. We are going to need scorers to develop their game even more, or just improve little things that can help you score, like always being low when you catch it, little things like that that become second nature instead of having to work on it. With the three freshmen coming in, we can just help them eventually mold right into our system, so preseason isn’t like last year. There were six of us and we just collided then, we hadn’t meshed. Just working on that kind of stuff and working on our core so when they come in it can be an easier transition.
WBR: Speaking of the three incoming freshman, how much do you know about them?
CT: Yeah, Alexis Akin-Otiko from Bellevue West – she’s a shorter post, but a quicker forward, right in between there. She can shoot. She’s strong down low in the paint. Then we have Taylor Johnson from Missouri. She’s a shooter, good point guard, good wing. Then we have Ally Jensen’s little sister, Sammy Jensen. They are just alike, little dribblers up front, quick point guards, shooters, good passers. We have a good, diverse group coming in, and I think they will fit well with us. We need to work on getting ourselves better here after postseason, so when they come in, just like I said before, it’s an even easier transition for them.
WBR: So the season is not for a while, but what are your expectations for next year? The same as every year?
CT: I can’t say same as every year, just because I’ve only been here once, but now I already know what to expect,and that was kind of the fun of freshman year. Now, sophomore year, when people start to know you better in the conference, and you start to know them too, your expectations have to be higher. My personal expectation is to not take a practice or a game off, because you never know how much games are valuable towards the end of the season. This year, we were one game away from second place, and I just think that if we could have had one of those games back, that we just had a bad game, that we could be in the NCAA tournament right now. So for myself I would say just don’t take any days, practices or games off. I think that should be a team goal too, because we know how close we’ve been the last couple years.