The 2013-14 Creighton men’s basketball season has generated a lot of excitement around Omaha – deservedly so. After all, they’ve appeared in consecutive NCAA Tournaments and are picked to finish third in their first season in the Big East Conference. But allow me to shift your Creighton basketball focus a few blocks west to another team which should be generating excitement for Bluejay fans.
While the Creighton women will have to wait 18 years for head coach Jim Flanery’s daughter Brynn to be an All-American, the ladies can match some other of their male counterpart’s accomplishments. The women’s squad has also appeared in consecutive NCAA Tournaments, beating Syracuse in the first round last year for the program’s first NCAA win since 1994. You may have also missed that they were tabbed for a higher finish in the Big East standings than the men were. That’s right, in their first season in their new conference, the ladies have been tabbed to finish second in the league, trailing only long-time Big East power DePaul in the preseason poll.
The Creighton women return two first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference players and preseason All-Big East team honorees, sophomore guard Marissa Janning and senior forward Sarah Nelson. That all-conference duo is joined by senior guard McKenzie Fujan, as the Jays welcome back their top three scorers from last year’s MVC championship team. While the timing for the Big East move came at a perfect time for the men, an experienced and talented women’s team is also well positioned for their first season in the Big East.
The Bluejays open their 2013-14 season with an exhibition game against Fort Hays State Monday night at D.J. Sokol Arena. Today we take a look at some numbers before the season starts and later this week we’ll have a season preview.
Team Numbers:
- Creighton ranked second in the NCAA with 9.2 three-pointers per game last year. Their school-record 302 three-pointers made out-distanced the former school record by 42.
- Creighton’s three-point shooting was well documented last year, but the Bluejays also set a school record for free throw percentage, making 75.4 percent of their free throws as a team.
- The Bluejays were one of just 38 teams in the nation with a positive assist-turnover ratio last year. Creighton ranked 18th in the NCAA with a 1.11 assist-turnover ratio in 2012-13.
- The Bluejays also ranked in the NCAA top-20 in assists per game (16.4) and three-point field-goal percentage (.354) last year.
- Creighton was one of five programs in the NCAA to rank in the top-20 in both three-point accuracy and three-pointers per game. The Jays were joined by Connecticut, Northeastern, Oklahoma and Green Bay.
- The Bluejays are 44-11 (.800) in their first four seasons at D.J. Sokol Arena.
- Creighton is 16-0 in exhibition games under Jim Flanery.
Individual Numbers:
MC McGrory, #3, Fr., G: Scored 1,259 points in her prep career at Edina (Minn.) High School.
Sammy Jensen, #5, Jr., G: 17-of-18 career field goals makes are three-pointers, 50-of-52 career field-goal attempts are three-pointers.
McKenzie Fujan, #11, Sr., G: Ended the 2012-13 campaign having made 26 consecutive free-throw attempts.
Lauren Works, #12, Fr., G: Scored a school-record 1,314 points in her career at Lincoln (Neb.) Southwest High School.
Tessa Leytem, #20, So., G: Appeared in 20 games last year, logging 11 points and 10 rebounds in 74 total minutes.
Marissa Janning, #23, So., G: Her 74 three-pointers last year were the most ever by a Bluejay freshman and ranked fourth in the NCAA among freshmen in 2012-13.
Jordan Garrison, #32, Sr., G: Scored in double figures six times last year, including a career-high 15 points (on 5 3FG) vs. South Florida.
Sarah Nelson, #42, Sr., F: Led NCAA front-court players in assist-turnover ratio last year with 115 assists and just 61 turnovers.
Alexis Akin-Otiko, #45, Jr., F: Shot 93.8 percent at the free throw line last year (30-32).
Brianna Rollerson, #50, RS-Fr., F: Redshirted last year after scoring 1,101 points and logging 775 rebounds at Omaha Central High School.
Alyssa Kamphaus, #55, Sr., C: Scored more points as a junior (168) than she did as a freshman and sophomore combined (147).
Disabled List (aka Bench Mob): Seniors Carli Tritz and Riley Norman have suffered career-ending injuries. Redshirt-sophomore Taylor Johnson missed all of last year with a torn ACL and will miss all of this season after tearing the same ACL over the summer.
Head Coach Jim Flanery: 215 career wins are a program record; 7 20-win seasons; 9 postseason appearances in his first 11 seasons (2 NCAA, 7 WNIT); 116-36 record at home.
Creighton will face a solid NCAA Division II team from Hays, Kan., on Monday night. The Bluejays will receive a good test from Fort Hays State, who posted a 22-7 overall record last year and were ranked as high as No. 10 in the D2 national polls during the 2012-13 season. FHSU is led by the reigning MIAA Defensive Player of the Year and school record-holder for career blocked shots, 6-foot-4 junior center Kate Lehman. Fort Hays head coach Tony Hobson is in his sixth season in Hays, after leading Hastings College to three NAIA national titles in his seven years.
Myself and Brad Burwell are back for another season on the radio call for home games this year. Listen on 1180 AM in Omaha or click here to listen online. Glen Sisk will fly solo on the radio call of road games this year.
Be sure to follow White and Blue Review for coverage of the women’s team from myself and Matt DeMarinis throughout what promises to be a special campaign for the ladies. It all starts tonight at 7!