The No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners defeated the Creighton women’s basketball team, 69-48 in a Saturday afternoon contest at D.J. Sokol Arena.
The Sooners (1-0) were led by their two experienced guards, junior Aaryn Ellenberg and senior Whitney Hand. Ellenberg scored 19 points on 8-12 shooting, while Hand contributed 14 points and 8 rebounds. The two took advantage of Creighton’s inability at times to stop dribble penetration, and the Jays double teams of 6’6 junior center Nicole Griffin. Jays head coach Jim Flanery was displeased with his team’s execution of the scouting report, saying, “Our scouting report awareness was not good. We left Ellenberg open, we left Hand open. I can understand why we would think to help on Griffin because of her size, but we talked about when and where we should help from, and we helped from the wrong places.”
After an 8-2 run by Creighton to start the game, the Sooners adjusted their defensive strategy. Oklahoma used aggressive pressure on the perimeter to keep Creighton ball handlers and shooters from getting into a rhythm offensively. After that hot start by the Jays, Oklahoma went on a 16-2 run over the next 4:52 by forcing four turnovers and holding Creighton to 1-7 shooting during the key stretch. Oklahoma held the Jays to just 9-33 shooting in the first half as they took a 36-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
“We got good shots early off some slips and cuts,” said Creighton junior forward Sarah Nelson after the game. “I think we played kind of rushed as a team. We were just playing hot potato and looking to get rid of the ball instead of run plays and get it into the post. We were very perimeter-oriented, and it made it easier for them to guard. But even the couple times we did get it inside, they would trap down, so you have to credit them for playing really good defense.”
The first five minutes of the second half were important for Creighton if they wanted to get back in the game, but Oklahoma opened the half on a 14-5 run over that span thanks to Ellenberg and Hand, who combined for 12 of Oklahoma’s points during that stretch. Flanery tried switching his go-to player, Carli Tritz onto Ellenberg to try and slow her down. While the strategy worked in limiting Ellenberg’s production, it allowed Oklahoma’s bigger wings to exploit the mismatches. “It was really tough, because you put me on her and it left smaller guards on Hook and Hand, who are bigger wings. All of them are shooters/drivers. It helped to slow Ellenberg, but they all made tough shots.”
After going 1-6 from beyond the arc in the first half, Oklahoma hit four of their first five from deep to take a 52-31 lead with 10:36 to play. Junior guard Mackenzie Fujan’s two free throws at 7:41 helped cut the Jays’ deficit to 54-38. Oklahoma called a 30-second timeout to regroup, and responded with a game-clinching 11-2 run to take a 65-42 lead with 4:10 remaining. Two threes finally fell for Creighton at the end of the game, but it was too little, too late as Oklahoma walked away with the victory.
The Jays (0-1) were led by 13 points from senior guard Ally Jensen, but Tritz and Nelson combined for just 11 points on 5-18 shooting, including 1-7 from beyond the arc. The Jays will look to regroup for their next game on Wednesday at South Dakota State. While not as talented as Oklahoma, coach Flanery believes they pose a difficult challenge, “South Dakota State is the same kind of team. They may not have quite the individual talent that Oklahoma has, but they are a really good team. If we only play 20 seconds of defense instead of 30, then we’re going to give up the same kind of shots as we did today.”
Tip-off for the South Dakota State game is set for 7:00 p.m.
Game Stats:
Oklahoma / Creighton
Score: 69 / 48
FG/FGA: 27-56 (48.2%) / 17-65 (26.2%)
3FG/FGA: 7-14 (50%) / 7-31 (22.6%)
FT/FTA: 8-9 (88.9%) / 7-7 (100%)
Rebounding: 44 (Off: 7, Def: 37) / 33 (Off: 10, Def: 23)
Assists: 14 / 15
Turnovers: 19 / 14
Steals: 6 / 10
Blocks: 0 / 3
Scoring Leaders: Ellenberg (19) / Jensen (13)
Rebounding Leaders: Hand (8) / Kamphaus (6)
Assists Leaders: Hook (5) / Tritz (4)
Steals Leaders: Ellenberg, Hook (2) / Tritz, Corbin (3)
Blocks Leaders: None / Nelson, Kamphaus, Akin-Otiko (1)