Creighton opened Missouri Valley Conference play with an 81-60 win at Southern Illinois on Thursday and now returns to the site of perhaps its most disappointing loss of the 2011-12 season. As was referenced in the SIU preview, the Bluejays’ debut at Evansville’s new Ford Center last year was one to forget. The Bluejays shot 31 percent and made just 4-of-21 shots from three-point range in a sluggish performance at Evansville last February.
Last year’s game in Evansville was an 11 am tip-off which served as a “field trip” to nearly 3,000 screaming children. Never mind the fact that an 11 am tip on a Thursday completely throws off the game day routine of players, when you can’t hear your head coach yelling instructions because of the buzz from the kids singing along with inappropriate Katy Perry lyrics, it makes for a strange environment. Now, that’s no excuse for Creighton to lose to an Evansville team which was 1-10 in MVC play entering that morning, but it was certainly advantageous for a struggling UE squad to have any sort of edge it could get. Sarah Nelson poured in a then-career high 23 points and had 11 rebounds for Creighton at UE last year, making 9-of-16 shots in the 48-45 loss. The rest of the team scored 22 points and went 9-of-43 from the field. I’m banking on the Bluejays having more balance in this year’s meeting and looking more awake for the 5 pm Saturday tip.
The Purple Aces snapped an eight game losing streak with a 68-62 win over Drake on Thursday night. When I look at this UE roster, I feel like it might be underachieving with its 3-9 (1-0 MVC) record under second-year head coach Oties Epps. They have three players averaging double figures in the scoring column, led by senior forward Samantha Heck’s 14.6 points per game. Heck, who is 6-foot-2, also tops the team in field goals made, field goal percentage and three-point percentage (.429). Her 7.8 rebounds per game rank second behind newcomer Mallory Ladd. Ladd, a sophomore transfer from Valparaiso, has started UE’s last three games after becoming eligible following the end of the first semester. The 6-foot-1 forward is averaging a double-double in her first three games with the Purple Aces. The Evansville native has started her first three games at UE and is averaging 12.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, despite shooting just 8-of-28 (.286) from the field. She’s earned her points inside, making 21-of-22 (.955) free-throws and her 16 points and 10 rebounds led the way in UE’s win over Drake.
Beyond the interior combination of Heck and Ladd, redshirt sophomore guard Khristian Hart is averaging 13.1 points per game, while unloading an average of 14 shots per game. She’s shooting just 28.7 from the field and 28.8 percent from three-point range, while she leads UE with 30 three-pointers and 16 steals. Meagan Collins (8.8 ppg), Juliann Miller (team-high 29 assists), fifth-year senior and four-year starter Chelsea Falkenstein and Taylor Ware, a starter in two of her first three seasons at UE – all give the Aces enough pieces to be better than their 3-9 mark. All are solid players, but perhaps Ladd is the difference-maker UE needs to start playing better.
The Aces are 2-2 at the Ford Center this season, where they are averaging 294 fans. That’s 294 fans in a 10,000-seat arena which cost $127.5 million to build. It makes me very thankful that the Creighton administration constructed D.J. Sokol Arena inside the Wayne & Eileen Ryan Athletic Center for women’s basketball and volleyball. Can you imagine the Bluejay women trying to put forward a home court advantage inside the CenturyLink Center? No? Exactly. I’d expect a few more bodies in the seats than the average UE women’s game on Saturday, as the CU-UE game follows the UE men’s game against Southern Illinois, but still far fewer than the 3,000 school children which were there last year.
So why, with so many solid pieces to the puzzle, are the Aces struggling this season? Turnovers and poor shooting. The Aces have 102 more turnovers than assists this year. That’s an amazing stat through 12 games. UE has committed 244 turnovers, more than 20 per game, this season, compared to just 142 assists, 11.8 per game. Seven times this season the Aces have had more than 20 turnovers in a game, including 31 in their season-opening win over Ball State.
Comparatively, the Bluejays rank among NCAA leaders and are the only team in the MVC with more assists than turnovers on the season.
UE ranks last in the MVC in offense, scoring just 55.5 points per game and their league-worst field-goal shooting percentage of 34.7 ranks 310th in the NCAA. Evansville has shot better than 40 percent from the field just twice this year (2 of its 3 wins) and has shot below 30 percent three times. Not only are the Aces turning the ball over too much, they aren’t forcing any turnovers. There are only three teams in the entire NCAA which average fewer steals than UE’s 5.6 per game.
Again Creighton (9-3, 1-0 MVC) will be a huge favorite on Saturday, but again the Bluejays can simply tap into how they felt following last year’s loss at UE to know they cannot take this game lightly. The 21-point win at SIU on Thursday allowed Jim Flanery to use his bench and no one played more than 30 minutes in the blowout. After a 48-minute game at Minnesota, Sarah Nelson led the team with 18 points and eight rebounds in a season-low 28 minutes against SIU. Nelson’s postmates were productive as well, allowing her to take some much-deserved rest. Alyssa Kamphaus scored 10 points and had five rebounds in 19 minutes before fouling out of her first MVC start. Alexis Akin-Otiko was 4-for-6 from the field for eight points in 15 minutes off the bench.
I’d look to the posts to make an impact against UE, as Heck and Ladd will be major factors for the Aces. Much like Nelson, Heck is a post player who is comfortable facing up and playing away from the hoop. I’ll be interested, having never seen Ladd play, to see how the Bluejays match up with her. With Ladd getting to the free-throw line 22 times in her first three games, it will be imperative for the Bluejay front court to stay out of foul trouble.
At guard, Creighton has its solid starting trio and standout freshman Marissa Janning coming off the bench, but Jordan Garrison’s recent play deserves to be recognized as well. Garrison has been doing what she was brought to Creighton to do – make three-pointers. Garrison scored in double figures just once in her first 58 career games. In her last three games she has eclipsed 10 points each time; career-high 15 vs. South Florida, 11 at Minnesota and 12 at SIU. She’s averaging 12.7 points per game and is 11-of-21 (.524) from three-point range in that span.
Random Links, Thoughts and Numbers
– As projected, Creighton’s RPI dropped from 16 to 26 after a 21-point road win at SIU. CU’s strength of schedule went from 12 to 24.
– Evansville’s RPI is 258, while its SOS is 163.
– Creighton is 7-1 away from home this year and 13-4 all-time at Evansville.
– Creighton has scored more than 80 points in its last three games. It’s first three-game streak of 80+ points since February of 1994. That 1994 team is the only Creighton women’s basketball team to receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
– Creighton is now 2-0 on the season when preseason MVC Player of the Year Carli Tritz attempts only one shot in a game. Creighton defeated both Houston and Southern Illinois by 21 points in those contests.
– Sammy Jensen made the first “two-point” basket of her career against SIU. The sophomore guard now has eight field goals in her career, seven from three-point range.
– Meanwhile, with 173 career three-pointers, older sister Ally Jensen will move into a tie for sixth on the CU career charts with her next three-point bucket.
– Jim Flanery is now tied with his former coaching partner and former UNI head coach Tony DiCecco for fourth in league history with 117 career conference victories.
– Jim Flanery is looking for win No. 200 of his head coaching career.
– In case you missed it, ESPN.com’s Graham Hays was at SIU Arena on Thursday and had high praise for Bluejay freshman Marissa Janning.
– Through five games, Creighton was shooting 34.2 percent from the field and 28.7 percent from three-point range.
– Over Creighton’s last seven games, Creighton is shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 43.3 percent from three-point range.
– There will be no local radio for Saturday’s game, but you can listen to Evansville’s broadcast here. A subscription webcast is available for the game and you can follow live stats as well.
Rob Simms worked in the Creighton athletic department for 11 years, primarily working with the men’s soccer, women’s basketball and softball teams. He now serves as the color analyst for women’s basketball home radio broadcasts. He tweets about Creighton a lot @IamRobSimms