The Creighton women’s basketball team quietly got their preseason camp underway this week. While the volleyball team was Hulk-smashing Xavier and Butler, and the men’s basketball team was answering questions about Final Fours and national championships from a gaggle of writers and newscasters, Jim Flanery’s squad was across the street at The Ruth Scott Training Center working on their press break and baseline out of bounds sets while trying to up the ante in the wake of a run to the Elite Eight six months ago.
Freshmen Brittany Harshaw, Kennedy Townsend, and Kiani Lockett add a trio of new faces to a roster that returns six of its top seven scorers from last season. The Jays are a battle-tested group and instead of kicking back and admiring their work all summer, they stayed together and stayed in the gym. It remains to be seen what that will translate to, but they are motivated to raise the bar even higher after getting to the doorstep of the first Final Four appearance in program history.
Quotables…
Head coach Jim Flanery on the Creighton connections within the coaching staff:
“I think there is a recognition that you are surrounded by people who have helped you be who you are, where you are, and stay where you are. One of the things that I think keeps me young is that I have a comfort level with the people with whom I work. I think when you have that, when you’re not fighting that every day and you enjoy it, that helps to keep you younger. Especially when you’ve been somewhere for a long time, because when you’ve been somewhere for a long time the tendency is to maybe get stale or maybe not be quite as enthusiastic about it. But when you are around people who are really good people who kind of know the place and push you, that to me can kind of keep you young.”
Senior guard Rachael Saunders on how the team sustained the momentum from the Elite Eight run:
“After the tournament was over, we came back, finished school, and then everyone on the team stayed voluntarily the whole summer. We were required to be here for four weeks for team workouts, but then when the coaches went to do all the recruiting, we all stayed together and put on our own workouts and our own pick-up and stuff. That kind of led into the upcoming of this season. Having so much time together, having so much time on the court, and building that chemistry even more than we had last year I think made us more excited for what we are able to do right now. The momentum was great, and I don’t think it has really stopped.”
Flanery on how this group built themselves up together:
“We had a lot of things go poorly two years ago. We injuries on top of COVID issues, and I think we really were able to build because we had so many freshmen who got to play and get better and overcome some things, and I think that really showed up last year. I think we overcame things a little bit easier because of the positions that we were put in two years ago. I think that will be kind of the message this year is that you have a greater capability to get yourself out of things because of what you’ve gone through the last two years — two years ago just to get to mediocrity, and last year to get to excellence … this year’s team can have a starting point that’s a little bit better and therefore you’d hope that where we end up is even better.”
Saunders on what last year’s experience taught the team:
“South Carolina was obviously an incredible team and ended up winning the whole thing. It showed us it was less based on skill and effort, and it was more based in drive and character and grit. We were down and we ended up losing by a considerable amount, but I think you still saw players fighting until the very end. We didn’t lie down and let them run through us. We were still giving effort. We were still giving 100% going after a loose ball or a rebound. I think that shows the true character of the people on this team. It was a very big disappointment for us, but it was also a great learning experience. It was great for us to see our teammates going hard even though there is 20 seconds left and we’re going to lose by 30 or whatever it may be. That speaks to the team, and it gives you that extra respect for your teammates and it makes you want to get back on the court with them.
“It was good for us to see what that next level of basketball is like. Having them win the championship was incredible and we saw the kind of team and skill that they had. We saw that we were at the same level as them, we were in the same game as them, so why not work extra hard this offseason, work extra hard this year and make that more of a fighting match.”
Notables…
- Morgan Maly has put in serious work on her handles. It looks quick, smooth, and effortless. The junior “hybrid” used a between-the-legs retreat dribble for a step-back 20-footer over a member of the guys’ practice squad, then stopped on a dime in transition and went behind the back from right to left to set up a fall-away jumper from the corner, and later she split a double team in the lane with a hesitation move before banking home a runner of the glass. Oh yeah, and the woman’s range still extends out to galaxies that haven’t been discovered yet.
- Freshman point guard Kiani Lockett was cleared to participate in non-contact drills on Friday and went through some shooting and ballhandling drills with the team on Saturday morning. Lockett tore her ACL in late January, but appears to be progressing well in her recovery.
- Combo guard Kennedy Townsend had some freshman moments during 5-on-5 on Saturday morning, but she also got some quality point guard reps when junior Molly Mogensen was off the ball. She is incredibly physical for her age and makes the right decision more often than not. She had one sequence that popped when she anticipated a dribble-hand off, picked it off, and turned it into points on the other end with a smooth euro step finish in transition.