We continue our brief profiles of each member of the 2010-11 Creighton women’s basketball team. Join us each weekday from now until the women’s season opener against Liberty at the Wolfpack Invitational for an introduction to this year’s Bluejays, from freshmen to seniors.
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Last season Ally Jensen was a sniper for the Bluejays off the bench. As a freshman, when Jensen backed up Chevelle Herring and played both the point guard and off guard position, she consistently knocked down timely 3-pointers. She tied a school record by hitting a 3-pointer in her first seven games, and her first nine baskets as a Bluejay were from long range. And she led all Missouri Valley Conference freshmen in 3-point field goal percentage (36.8 %).
Jensen had her best performance of the year during Creighton’s Valley tournament run. Against Drake she scored 18 points, going 6-12 from 3-point range. She only took 11 shots all year inside the 3-point line, and when asked if there is any question about taking a layup or a long-range shot, Jensen said “three pointer for sure.”
Jensen continues to refine her shot, working often with teammates and fellow long-range threat Jordan Garrison. “Jordan and I, we get a lot of shooting workouts together,” she said. Working with the freshman reminds her a bit of what she went through last season, when Jensen was new to the program. “It was hard at first, but I had a lot of great teammates and the coaches were really patient to help me with the transition,” she said. “Maybe it was a little faster than I thought, but I didn’t know what I was getting myself into at first.”
Jensen knows what she is doing now as she starts her sophomore season. She will run the point for Jim Flanery and distribute to her teammates, all while still threatening opposing defenses from the perimeter. That transition started against Northwest Missouri State in Wednesday’s exhibition game, during which Jensen worked on getting her teammates involved. She took only one shot, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out three assists in Creighton’s 96-61 win.
But she’s still just a sophomore, and Jensen said she relies as much on senior leadership this year as she did last season. “A lot of seniors last season were really great with their leadership helping me get acclimated with everything, but Sam [Schuett] and Woody [Kelsey Woodard] were definitely the ones to build that bond.”
Luckily she still has Schuett and Woodard around to continue and build on some of the chemistry the jays developed last season. That’s partially why Jensen and the Bluejays have such high hopes for this season. “We always have high hopes. We are going to have a great team this year. We would love to win the regular season, and win the tournament to get to the NCAAs.”
The drive begins on November 12 against Liberty in the Wolfpack Invitational tournament at North Carolina State, with Jensen leading the way at guard.