The 21st-ranked DePaul Blue Demons spoiled Creighton’s hopes of sending senior guard Tessa Leytem out with a win in her home finale on Sunday afternoon. DePaul handed the Bluejays a 78-52 setback and dropped Creighton’s record to 11-2 in ‘Senior Day’ games since Jim Flanery became head coach in 2002-03.
“DePaul is a really really good team,” Flanery said. “I’ve said numerous times they are fun to watch if you don’t have to play against them. They’re fun to watch on film, they’re fun to watch live. They move the ball great, and they play with so much confidence on offense. They play hard. They can play a small lineup and be a good rebounding team and a good defensive team, or they can play a bigger lineup and be the same thing. They’re hard to prepare for. A big part of today was how good they are.”
Creighton matched DePaul almost basket for basket throughout the first quarter, but the Blue Demons reeled off a 17-4 run that lasted from the end of the first quarter until around the midway point of the second, building a 31-16 in the process with 6:22 left in the opening half.
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Check out photos by Adam Streur at photos.whiteandbluereview.com
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A 3-pointer and a free throw by sophomore point guard Jade Owens cut the deficit to nine points, but DePaul junior guard Jessica January and senior forward Megan Podkowa scored on two of the next three possessions to get the lead back up to double digits at 35-22 with 3:01 remaining in the half. Creighton would not get any closer than 10 points the rest of the game.
January had nine points, four rebounds, and four assists in the first half, while Podkowa chipped in nine points, three rebounds, and three assists to help the nationally-ranked Blue Demons finish the half strong and take a 43-29 lead into the locker room.
“They ended quarters well,” Flanery said. “We had it at 17-14, and they ended that first quarter on a run to make it 23-14. Same thing at halftime, we kind of had it at 10, and then it’s 14. Those are big possessions. That’s what good teams do.”
Any hope of a comeback that still remained in the building after halftime was completely erased by the end of the third quarter. DePaul scored 16 of the first 18 points in the period, and outscored Creighton 24-4 over the ten minutes to double up the Bluejays and take a 67-33 lead into the fourth quarter. DePaul shot 56.3% from the field in the quarter, while forcing five turnovers and holding Creighton to just 2 of 14 from the floor.
“Defensively they create problems. They really get out and pressure and take passes away,” Flanery said. “It’s hard to move the ball, and we’re a ball movement team. In the second quarter we became more of a stand around team just because sometimes I think when you’ve tried to be a motion team and you’ve tried to move the ball, sometimes you’re better off just playing to your best match-up. For us that was maybe Sydney [Lamberty] or Audrey [Faber] against Podkowa. They make moving the ball so difficult that you’re better off just playing to your best match-up, so we did that a little. Maybe after we watch the film we’ll do that a little bit more if we get to play them again.”
With the game well in hand, DePaul head coach Doug Bruno called off the dogs and sat all five of his starters for almost the entire fourth quarter. Three players finished in double figures for the Blue Demons led by January’s game-high 16 points to go along with a game-high seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals.
Jade Owen played well in the loss to DePaul (WBR/Adam Streur)
Junior guard MC McGrory was the only Bluejay to score in double figures, leading the way with 11 points on 5 of 11 shooting. Sophomore point guard Jade Owens added six points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals in the loss. The lone active senior on the Creighton team, Tessa Leytem, finished with eight points and two rebounds in a career-high 22 minutes on the floor.
“I was glad she got some baskets, and she hit one in the second quarter that I thought was a big basket, but then kind of how the game went we came right back down and didn’t get matched up,” Flanery said. “I’m glad that she played pretty well today, because she deserves that, and she deserved to start. When you’re outside the locker room sometimes people don’t understand how much the kid who doesn’t play as much means to the team. Some of the things that Tessa does for our younger players with her ability to be a great listener, and just be the kind of teammate that she is is really impactful for a team. I think that’s a big part of what she leaves Creighton with. I think Creighton has been great for Tessa, and I think Tessa has been great for Creighton. Those things are mutual in terms of I think she’s benefited by being here, and we’ve benefited by having her at Creighton and in our basketball program.”
Tessa Leytem (20) earned her first start in her last home game as a senior at CU (WBR/Adam Streur)
Leytem, who earned her first career start in her home finale on Sunday, spoke after the game and thanked her coaches, her family, and the fans. At first she forgot to include her teammates in the speech, but scrambled to the microphone as everyone was filing out of the arena to make sure her peers got their due credit.
“I looked around and saw all of these beautiful faces smiling at me in white,” Leytem said of what made her remember at the last second. “I’m glad I got them. They’re the best. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Before the game, Leytem came out to warm-up. She wasn’t alone for long as her teammates joined her on the court wearing white t-shirts that said “#DoItForTessa” with a picture of a crown next to it. She gave each one of them a hug and they gave her a t-shirt of her own, which will be their slogan for the Big East Tournament that starts on March 5th.
Leytem said she knew her teammates were planning something, but wasn’t completely sure what it would be. The pregame gesture came as a welcomed surprise.
“The warm-ups were really cool. I had no idea,” she said. “We were joking around about making Big East Tournament shirts, and they were throwing all kinds of things out there. Then I guess they decided to actually make them. When they all walked out like that it was really awesome. They really are all so special, and I couldn’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done for me. It’s been more than I could ask for to play with them this past year. It’s been amazing.”
After Sunday’s loss, Creighton sits at 13-15 overall and 7-9 in Big East play. They can finish as high as fifth in the standings, which will get them out of the play-in game in the conference tournament, but they can finish as low as eighth if they don’t find a way to get some wins in the final weekend of the regular season at Seton Hall and at St. John’s. Jim Flanery hopes that the limited time remaining in the season get his team to hone in on the things that have led to their inconsistent performances this year.
“In terms of our team it’s a little too soon after what happened today for me to get excited about prepping,” Flanery said. “Our kids are sincere and in a lot of ways we’re not that far away, but in some ways our maturity doesn’t allow us to prepare to be as consistent as I’d like to be, and maybe they’d like to be. Hopefully the urgency of being down to the wire will help our focus and our intensity this week and next week. I think we have to get a result. I don’t think we can just go and play pretty well against Seton Hall and St. John’s and lose both games. I think we need to show that we can beat them, and I think we can.”
The Bluejays face Seton Hall (20-7, 10-6) on Friday at 6:01 p.m. on the Big East Digital Network. Then they will wrap up the regular season at St. John’s (19-8, 10-6) on Sunday at 2:01 p.m. on Fox Sports 2.
Listen to Jim Flanery and Tessa Leytem following Creighton’s loss to DePaul on Feb. 21, 2016: