Coaches, athletes, and trainers at all levels of every sport talk a big game about sacrifice, selflessness, and giving everything you have for the greater good. Creighton’s fifth-year senior point guard Olivia Elger wears pain as proof that she walks the walk better than most in that regard, and what she puts herself through for the good of the team and the love of the game isn’t lost on her teammates and coaches.
“It’s a testament to how much she loves to play,” head coach Jim Flanery said. “It’s too bad her body didn’t hold up more, but at the same time I think she’s come close to maximizing what she could do physically. If you’re a younger player or [an older player] who is more comparable in age, you draw inspiration from watching her struggle physically the way she does, but also fight and impact the game at the level that she does. It’s one thing to have a freshman who maybe looks up to her, but I think it’s cool that her peers and the older players really appreciate her too.”
Olivia Elger keeps going for the Bluejays in her five seasons on the hilltop (Spomer / WBR)
Elger hardly practices at this stage of her career. Knee injuries and concussions going all the way back to her high school days have taken their toll on her physically. In practice, she gets as many reps on the stationary bike as she does on the court, and during rest periods she’s usually strolling the sideline with a ball in her hand, encouraging teammates and soaking in the scouting report details so she’s prepared to go on game day. That’s been a working formula for the 5-foot-7 point guard in her final season of college basketball. She put up 18 points and seven rebounds in a win over in-state rival Nebraska in Lincoln. Four days later, she finished with 17 points and no turnovers as the Bluejays handed No. 17 West Virginia their only loss of the season thus far. And after losing starting point guard Tatum Rembao to a knee injury the day before the game, Elger dropped a career-high 24 points on the road against now 18th-ranked Arizona State.
Those are the highs, but they come with a price. Her pop offensively isn’t always there because of the mileage on her body. Five games into league play, she’s averaging six points per game, shooting 18.8% from the field, and 13.6% from 3-point territory. She hasn’t hampered her ability to impact winning for the Jays, though. In league play, she leads the team in steals (1.8), ranks second in assists (2.8), and is third in rebounding (4.4) behind only senior forward Jaylyn Agnew and sophomore guard Rachael Saunders. This weekend she was all over the place in crunch time to help Creighton rally on their home floor to beat Providence and move to 4-1 in Big East play. With her team trailing by three with 4:30 to go, the Peoria, Ill. native had four points, one assist, one steal, and forced two turnovers with timely deflections down the stretch to spark a 17-5 run to end the game and steal a win on a day when she wasn’t at her best offensively.
“Sometimes that girl gets up and can barely walk,” Agnew said about Elger’s impact down the stretch against the Friars. “She’s hurting every single time that happens, but she’s still putting her body on the line. I love her for that. She’s always been that tough, grimy player for us. She’s been here five years and she keeps doing it. I’m really proud of her.”
As the two active seniors on the roster, Agnew and Elger want one last crack at taking Creighton to a Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. They last made the NCAA Tournament in 2018, losing to UCLA in the second round. That year, Sydney Lamberty and Audrey Faber, along with Agnew, dominated the headlines throughout the season as the Bluejays barely sneaked into the Big Dance with an 18-12 record. Those three drew a lot of praise for the team’s accomplishments that season, deservedly so, but had it not been for what Elger did in a late-January overtime win over Seton Hall they very likely would have ended up in the NIT instead.
On January 28, 2018, Creighton squandered a 20-point first-quarter lead that day. Elger had 17 points off the bench despite taking a beating against Seton Hall’s relentless full-court pressure. She got knocked down repeatedly throughout the afternoon, but always got back up and made big plays after doing so. She converted a crucial four-point play at the end of the second quarter to give Creighton a one-point lead at the break after their 24-4 lead had completely disappeared, then later on she scored the first seven points in the overtime period to land the knockout blow as the Bluejays cruised to the finish line. The punishment she sustained that day kept her out for the next two games, but had she not given everything she had it might have meant the difference between settling for an NIT berth instead of a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Junior guard Temi Carda, who was a true freshman on that 2017-18 team, hasn’t taken moments like that for granted while playing with Elger.
“I love the way that she is able to dig deep,” Carda said. “She might honestly be able to do it better than anyone else on our team. She’s battled through injuries and she truly does dig deep and makes those [winning] plays at the end. It’s a testament to her. In her fifth year here she wants to not only win, but she really does everything she can for the team. I’m proud of her for that and I love being her teammate because of it.”
The Senior is ready to go out on a high note (Juszyk / WBR)
There have been several junctures in Elger’s career where she could have succumb to the punishment and called it a day without anyone ever even so much as beginning to question her decision. Even now, she’s always one wrong landing or one more hard collision away from her final play. But last season playing out the way it did — with Creighton battling injury after injury, sputtering to a 15-16 record, and missing the postseason for the first time since 2007 when Elger was just 9 years old — was enough to motivate her to go through one more offseason of summer workouts and one last grind through a six-month season.
“I feel like basketball, and this school and these people have given me so much that I just didn’t want it to end on that note,” Elger said. “It’s fun playing with my teammates and seeing what they can do. My role this year is so much more than just performance-based. It’s about being there for them and trying to help them. With the knee injuries and [the concussions], this entire year has been that kind of mindset. But I think because of that it allows me to enjoy it so much more.
“This year has been the most fun I’ve had at Creighton. Everything has come together. I have such a different perspective now than when I came in, and I have such a different appreciation for everything. Not just playing, but with my teammates and the experience. All of that has come together. I know it’s almost over, so I want to enjoy one last ride.”