Creighton head coach Jim Flanery patrols the sideline (Adam Streur/WBR)
The Creighton women’s basketball team is 2-1 after opening their season with a three-game road trip. We sat down with Bluejays head coach Jim Flanery to discuss how his team’s doing so far this season and to look ahead at the first home stand.
White & Blue Review: At Kansas last Tuesday your team got down early, but then seemed to play pretty even with the Jayhawks the rest of the way. What did your team take away from that road trip?
Jim Flanery: Well, it is like you said, we were able to come back and make it a game. I was very pleased that we never folded, as Kansas played very well early in the game. We were not sure if their best player was going to play, and I sort of planned on her being out. With that in mind, I was pleased with how we played with two days of prep and being back on the road. We were able to put some pressure on them and create 15 steals; they had a total of 25 turnovers. The girls were where they needed to be and caused some good pressure with their defense. Carli [Tritz] was a big factor in the game, and that was great to see.
I felt like we settled for a lot of shots and we really did not capitalize on our free throw opportunities. We only turned the ball over 14 times, and with the pressure Kansas puts on, that is a good number. It wasn’t the best performance, but we will improve.
WBR: Playing on the road the first three games of the season, does your team look like they will be a good travel squad?
JF: I thought in the three road games we played, we started slow. I think it was like a 8-2, 9-2, and 10-2 start to the games. The down side is we started slow, but the positive is that we are able to use our depth and our bench to stay in those games. With our bench, and our rather consistent skill set that I mentioned last week, it is sometimes simply finding that group that is clicking to give us a spark. The fact that we are able to get 2 road wins in 3 games as opposed to our 5 total last season is a good sign. If you can close out a season with 8 or more road wins, you are doing pretty well.
WBR: Four of your next six games are at home. How excited are the players to finally get some games at home in the next couple of weeks?
JF: Well, I wish tonight wasn’t during Thanksgiving break, because I don’t know that we will get a lot of students out. Our core fans will be out, but it will be good to be home regardless. The thing is, as I mentioned getting those road wins, you need to protect your home court. I am thankful that we had a little time to rest and catch up on some practice time before tonight’s game.
WBR: Carli Tritz looks like she is getting back up to speed with her career -high scoring performance against the Jayhawks. How easy has it been for her to work her way back to full speed?
JF: Not as easy as you may think. Carli is not a low confidence individual, but she is not overly confident either. When you are out as long as she was, it not only takes time in practice to get back physically, but she needed to build her confidence as well. The Kansas game was a big step for her and we will need her as the season goes on.