If confidence is the key for Creighton senior guard McKenzie Fujan, then Saturday afternoon’s performance should not have come as a surprise to anyone after she drilled a three-pointer from the left wing to begin the game in Creighton’s 65-58 home win over Villanova in their first ever conference game as a member of the Big East. Fujan tied her season-high with 17 points (7-9 FG, 2-2 3FG) to go along with three assists and three steals.
The Bluejays (7-6, 1-0 Big East) started fast in this one after the three by Fujan as sophomore Marissa Janning reeled off a personal 7-0 run moments later to get the Jays out to a 12-4 lead with 15:05 to go in the first half. The Wildcats, who entered the game committing a national-low of just 9.2 turnovers per contest, committed three turnovers in the span, but they settled down and consecutive three-pointers by Lauren Burford and Katherine Coyer brought Villanova (9-2, 0-1 Big East) to within two at 12-10 just a minute and a half later.
Play remained tight for the rest of the first half and the Wildcats took a 21-20 lead late in the period on a layup by Coyer with 4:51 to go. They lead changed hands four times over that final 4:51 with Villanova taking a 29-26 advantage into halftime. “I felt like we were ok,” said Creighton head coach Jim Flanery of his team’s position after the initial twenty minutes of play. “I felt like we played ok – a typical first half. I felt like we came out, moved it well, and then we didn’t move it as well later. Our press kind of hurt us in the first half, we got beat over the top a couple times and gave them layups, but I wasn’t too disappointed at half. I felt like we were right where wanted to be.”
Janning led the way for Creighton in the first half with nine points and four rebounds. Coyer, who entered the game averaging just 6.1 points, chipped in nine of her own, on 4-of-4 shooting, in the first half. The Wildcats committed just three turnovers over the final 14:50 of the half to help them take control of the game towards the end of the half.
After shooting just 9-of-24 (37.5%) in the first half, the Jays came out of the locker room on fire. They hit on seven of their first 14 shots to begin the half and turn a three-point halftime deficit into a 43-37 lead with 10:10 remaining in the game. The ensuing five minutes belonged to Creighton senior guard McKenzie Fujan. The senior out of Wahoo Bishop Neumann High School scored 10 points and assisted on a Janning three-pointer, contributing on every one of her team’s 13 points over a stretch that saw the Jays build a commanding 56-44 lead with 5:38 to go.
On the road and trailing by 12, the Wildcats strapped it up and decided they weren’t going to lay down without a fight, though. Villanova applied some full court pressure that resulted in four Creighton turnovers over a span of six possessions. They didn’t let those extra opportunities go to waste, either, and with just 1:18 remaining they found themselves trailing by just two, 58-56 after a jumper from the left baseline by freshman guard Jordan Dillard. The 15-2 run by the visiting Wildcats left Creighton in desperate need of a bucket to not only stop ‘Nova’s momentum, but create some of their own.
Their prayer was answered thanks to the hero of the half — McKenzie Fujan. With the shot clock ticking down and her team clinging to what was left of a 13-point lead, the senior rose up from just inside 25-feet and banked home a bomb that beat the shot clock and lit a fire under everyone in attendance. “I honestly didn’t even know it was going in until it went in,” Fujan said of her key shot. “I just knew I needed to get as far away from my defender as I could and still be in somewhat of my range. I just kind of fired it up and hoped for the best.”
After Fujan’s three made it a two-possession game, freshman guard Lauren Works went 4-for-4 at the line in the final twenty seconds to seal Creighton Basketball’s first ever win over a Big East conference foe. “You gotta be proud of the way she stepped up and made those free throws at the end,” Flanery said of his young guard. “That kid will figure out ways to help us. That’s how we grew to like her in the recruiting process. She’s not fast enough, she’s not tall enough, and she’s not a tremendous ball-handler, but somehow she figures out a way to win games and impact games.”
Fujan may have affected the outcome the most with her flawless second half (13 points, 6-6 FG, 1-1 3FG), but efficient efforts by fellow senior Sarah Nelson as well as sophomore Marissa Janning contributed greatly as well. Together the trio combined to score 51 of their team’s 65 points, while also grabbing 14 rebounds, and dishing out 11 assists. They also hit seven of Creighton’s nine three-pointers and had five of the team’s six steals as well. Overall, Creighton improved to 6-0 all time when those three each score in double figures. As Janning said after the game when asked to describe what it’s like when all three of them are clicking at the same time, “you can’t cover three.”
“The defense has to guess. You can take one, maybe two away, but you can’t cover three. Especially with as versatile as Sarah (Nelson) is, as athletic as (McKenzie Fujan) is, and with my speed there is just no way that they can defend us … there are just so many options,” Janning said.
Janning, a Preseason All-Big East selection, finished with a game-high 19 points (7-12 FG, 3-5 3FG) and also led all players with seven rebounds.
The Jays will need consistent contributions from Janning, Nelson, Fujan and more the rest of the way as the Big East slate is finally upon them. After a disappointing performance in non-conference play they’ll need a strong showing against their new conference foes if they want to return to the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive year.
Next up for the Creighton women is a New Year’s Day trip to Washington, D.C. to take on Georgetown. The Hoyas have dropped four of their last five and will enter the game, their first in Big East play this season, with a 6-6 overall record. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday afternoon.