After thirty-eight tension-filled minutes the Creighton women’s basketball team finally saw their name pop up on the big screen as they earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1994.
A frustrating 64-61 loss to Illinois State in the semifinals of the 2013 MVC Tournament two days ago left the Jays waiting, hoping, and praying that their body of work would help them earn a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament for a school-record second consecutive season. Sixty of the sixty-four teams selected for this year’s tournament knew where they were going and who they were playing before Creighton saw their name appear in the Oklahoma City Region next to the 10-seed line opposite the seventh-seeded Syracuse Orange out of the Big East.
“It was pretty dramatic, huh?” said Ally Jensen, who along with injured guard Jasmin Corbin is one of just two seniors on this Creighton team. “I was feeling pretty sad and pretty sick,” added Jensen. “We were not expecting a ten-seed at all. When I saw we weren’t the 11 or the 12 or the 14, I just closed my eyes and tried not to let the tears come. Then all of a sudden I heard people going crazy and I looked up and saw our name and heard ‘Creighton’. It was one of the happiest feelings I’ve felt.”
The Bluejays will take on a Syracuse team that is 24-7 and ranked 22nd nationally entering the tournament. The Orange ended their regular season last Monday with a 64-51 loss to 3rd-ranked Connecticut in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament. Creighton head coach Jim Flanery and First Team All-MVC performer Sarah Nelson admit they don’t know much about Syracuse yet aside from sharing a common opponent, “I know South Florida beat them by two, and we beat South Florida,” said Nelson, who scored a career-high 29 points on 12-of-14 shooting in the 91-74 win over the Bulls in the championship of the Caribbean Classic back on December 22.
Coach Flanery says he hasn’t seen much of the Orange this season, “I’ve watched Syracuse play once a year over the years. They play a lot of zone, and they have a really good post player,” said Flanery, adding that he did catch their last game against the Huskies, “I watched some of their game against UConn in the Big East semis. They lost by 13, but I think they outscored UConn in the second half. They’re a good team.”
Other Notable Quotes:
Creighton head coach Jim Flanery: “Everybody in our conference makes fun of the way we’ve scheduled in a lot of ways over the years, so for me personally this feels really good, because I feel like it did come down to our non-conference scheduling. I do the scheduling, a lot of head coaches don’t, but I do it. The last three games that we put in place this year were Oklahoma, at BYU, who was picked to win their league, and then at Minnesota. If we’d have just said let’s do one tough one and two easy ones in the last three I don’t think we would have gotten in. I said we’ve got a veteran team, and we’ve got to give ourselves more chances to win hard games.”
Junior forward Sarah Nelson: “I wasn’t really nervous until I sat down and they started calling out names. I get anxiety during things, so I was fine until they called out the names. I would’ve preferred to be in my dorm and have someone text me either we made it or we didn’t make it.”
Junior guard Carli Tritz: “I have no words to describe it. That was the lowest you could possibly feel as an athlete (referring to the long wait before the selection). To see our name pop up, and I mean, you see the chairs, they’re all over the place and our coaches are crying. That was the equivalent of winning a championship. It was the last possible spot we could be in, in the last bracket.”
Freshman guard Marissa Janning: “I don’t even know where to start. We kind of lost hope, but there was still a little spark under us, and I don’t even know what happened. Next thing I know I’m jumping in the air and I just see the Creighton name flash up on there. I had no idea who we were playing, what seed, no idea where we were playing, anything. I find out later, but all I know is that we’re in the NCAA [Tournament] and we’re going dancing.”
Sophomore forward Alexis Akin-Otiko: “It was an awesome experience last year [in the NCAA Tournament]. One of the most fun moments I’ve had in my career. Being able to play in it is an awesome blessing and I’m just excited.”
Junior guard Jordan Garrison: “It was very nerve-wracking [watching the Selection Show]. I went into with a lot of confidence, but I’m not going to lie when there were only two teams left to be called I kind of lost a little bit of hope. It was great to look up and see our name up there. It was amazing.”
Junior guard McKenzie Fujan: “I don’t think it could’ve been anymore drama-filled than that. Once those 11- and 12-seeds came up in the last bracket we were a little bit nervous. Even ‘Flan’ said you could just feel the energy die right there, but then it just popped up. We didn’t even know who we were playing at first. It was wild.”
Junior center Alyssa Kamphaus: “It’s so exciting. I’ve been dreaming since I was a little kid about being in the NCAA Tournament. I’m excited, because last year I was more of a cheerleader, so it’s going to be exciting to be out there and play a little more. … I didn’t expect the ten [seed] at all. I thought we were going to be the 16-seed playing against Baylor or something.”
Creighton and Syracuse will play Saturday morning in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tip-off is set for 10:20 a.m. Central time, and the game will be televised on ESPN2. Should the Jays defeat Syracuse they will advance to play the winner of second-seeded Tennessee and 15th-seeded Oral Roberts on Monday.