The Creighton women’s basketball team earned its fourth straight victory with a 63-42 win over North Dakota State on Sunday afternoon at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha. The win not only improved the Bluejays’ season record to 6-2, but it also gave head coach Jim Flanery his 196th career victory at Creighton, moving him into a tie with current athletic director, and former Creighton head coach, Bruce Rasmussen for the most wins by a women’s head coach in school history.
Despite nine different players logging at least 15 minutes, the Jays’ production came mainly from their starting five, which scored 50 of the teams 63 points in the victory. Leading the Jays in scoring were juniors, Alyssa Kamphaus and Carli Tritz, who each scored 11 points. Tritz also contributed to the victory with five rebounds, six assists, and two steals on the afternoon.
The Jays got off to a fast start in this one as Tritz and Kamphaus combined to score nine points in handing Creighton a 12-4 lead in the first four minutes. The Bison (3-7) responded with an 8-3 run, taking advantage of poor communication in transition by the Jays. According to Tritz, the pace at which NDSU was playing appeared to catch the Bluejays off guard,
“They actually pushed the ball kind of unexpectedly, because they aren’t as deep as we are.” Tritz referred to the play of Bison point guard, and Lincoln-native, Katie Birkel as something that caused the majority of the problems, “[Birkel] was quick getting the ball down, even when we made it. We needed to gap better on the trailer, and we adjusted a little in timeouts and mainly halftime. Staying in front of her, talking better on ball screens and in the backcourt was a good adjustment.”
With 6:49 remaining in the first half, and the Jays leading 22-19, the defensive adjustments along with Creighton’s depth started to take effect. The Bluejays blitzed North Dakota State with an 18-0 run to end the half thanks to a three-point barrage by senior Ally Jensen. The senior from Ames, Iowa scored nine of her team’s 14 points to close out the half.
Each team traded runs in the first 16 minutes of the second half. The Jays started with a 7-2 run in the first four minutes to extend their lead to 47-21. Then, just like in the first half, the Bison answered, this time with a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to 47-34 with 11:25 to play. After a media timeout, the Bluejays put the game out of reach with a 12-0 run culminating with a layup by Tritz to give Creighton a 59-34 lead with 4:01 remaining in the game. Lack of depth and the game’s fast tempo appeared to really affect the Bison in the latter parts of each half.
“We played really well at the end of the first half, and kind of put our stamp on the game there,” said Creighton head coach Jim Flanery. “We showed our depth.”
Combining the final seven minutes of each half together, the Jays outscored North Dakota State by 22 points (30-8). Those stretches, especially the one in the first half proved to be the difference in this game.
Junior Sarah Nelson, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, appreciates the depth that her team has.
“We are lucky because we’re a really deep team. Every single person on our team contributes in some way. I think, definitely in the long stretches where things got kind of tough, we were able to beat them up and down the floor.”
Creighton will now prepare for a five-game road trip beginning this Friday in Cancun, Mexico with a game against Miami-Ohio. The Redhawks will take a 6-4 record into the match up with Creighton after they defeated Chicago State 71-37 earlier this afternoon. For the players, a road trip that includes stops in Cancun looks like a good vacation opportunity, but for a soon-to-be-record-setting head coach, it’s just another chance to get better.
“As a coach you want [your players] to understand that we can get a lot better. I think our players are mature enough to understand that, but I think the scoreboard helps them understand that. The fact that North Dakota State played us even in the second half means that we didn’t play nearly as well. When we’re playing South Florida and Minnesota coming up we’re going to have to play close to 40 minutes of really good basketball, and our concentration is going to have to be better for longer.”
The tip-off between Creighton and Miami-Ohio is set for 2:30 p.m. central time. The team won’t play another home game until after New Year’s, when they take on the Illinois State Redbirds at D.J. Sokol Arena on Friday, January 11. Tip-off for that Missouri Valley Conference clash is set for 7:05 p.m.
Game Stats:
North Dakota State / Creighton
Score: 42 / 63
FG/FGA/FG%: 15-57 (26.3%) / 26-68 (38.2%)
3FG/3FGA/3FG%: 1-13 (7.7%) / 6-19 (31.6%)
FT/FTA/FT%: 11-12 (91.7%) / 5-6 (83.3%)
Rebounding: 41 (Off: 9, Def: 32) / 45 (Off: 11, Def: 34)
Assists: 5 / 19
Turnovers: 17 / 11
Steals: 6 / 8
Blocks: 1 / 3
Scoring Leaders: Whittle, DeGagne, Birkel (8) / Tritz, Kamphaus (11)
Rebounding Leaders: Whittle (12) / Nelson (10)
Assists Leaders: Van Kirk (2) / Tritz (6)
Steals Leaders: Birkel (3) / Tritz, Nelson, Akin-Otiko (2)
Blocks Leaders: Keena (1) / A. Jensen (2)