Each week, White & Blue Review will catch up with some of the talented broadcasters that bring Creighton athletics into your cars, homes, and offices via local media. For women’s basketball, that means learning about the Bluejays’ season through the eyes of Brad Burwell and Sara Cizek, who call CU games for KOIL 1180 AM (www.koilam1180.com).
WBR talked with Burwell about the Bluejays’ past two games, losses on the road against top 25 teams Nebraska and Kansas. Plus, we look ahead to this Sunday’s showdown against nationally ranked Oklahoma at Sokol Arena.
White & Blue Review: Last week, in a road game against a ranked team, Creighton gave Nebraska all they could handle before succumbing to the home team late in the second half. How well do the Bluejays matchup with the Huskers? What needed to happen to pull off the upset on the road?
Brad Burwell: They actually matched up well and did a good job of shutting down their guard play, particularly [Yvonne] Turner. Early foul trouble on Kelli Nelson hurt our ability to defend the post and Kelsey Griffin lived up to her pre-season All-American status by dominating the paint. To win on the road against a Big 12 opponent, the team will have to play an aggressive but smart defensive game. Simply meaning, they are going to have to assess early how the officials are going to call the game and react defensively to that style. Too many times one of our key players has gotten in early foul trouble and that has hurt our defensive effort.
WBR: Speaking of the road, the Jays followed up the close loss in Lincoln with a blowout defeat at KU. Chevelle Herring struggled mightily in both contests; how’s the senior point guard doing for the season so far?
BB: Chevy seems to pushing and trying to make things happen that are not there right now. The good thing is that the Jays have a lot of offensive weapons, so Chevy can play within her comfort zone and not feel she has to create on each possession.
WBR: Megan Neuvirth continues to do perform exceptionally well in every area of play. Just how valuable is Neuvirth to this team?
BB: Neuvirth is of course the pre-season MVC Player of the Year, and rightfully so. Known in her younger days as an outstanding defender and rebounder, Megan has steadily grown her offensive game and become a true scoring threat. She is a very hard worker and has an opportunity before it is all over to be the Jays all-time career rebounding leader.
Megan Neuvirth leads the Bluejays on both ends of the court
WBR: The Bluejays have just two non-conference games left this season before Valley play starts. What have you learned about this season’s squad during the non-conference schedule, up to this point?
BB: The Jays are well schooled in the fundamentals and should dominate most teams physically, but fans will look at the last two games and wonder. We have to keep in mind that we just lost to two top 25 teams, and while we would have liked the upset, those teams were more athletic than Creighton.
WBR: Sunday, the Bluejays will host Oklahoma. What will it take for the Bluejays to stop the Sooners in arguably the biggest non-conference home game in recent CU women’s hoops history?
BB: I really think the Sokol Arena can provide a true home court advantage for the Bluejays. Everyone would like to see a consistent 2,500 fans in the seats to bolster the team. I do believe offensively we need to drive the paint and see if we can get back to knocking down some 3-pointers. Defensively, they need to stay out of foul trouble and block out on the boards.