The Creighton women’s basketball team opens its 41st season with a familiar foe on Friday night. The Bluejays travel to Des Moines to face longtime Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake for a 7:05 p.m. tipoff inside the Knapp Center. Friday’s opener will be one of the few familiar experiences the Bluejays take part in during their 2013-14 season. With a new look and a new conference, the Jays have several questions they’ll need to answer as they seek to appear in their third straight NCAA Tournament. The White and Blue Review’s season preview examines some of the questions facing the Bluejays as they begin their 2013-14 journey.
Who fills the role vacated by the departed Ally Jensen?
Ally Jensen started every game last year, averaged 29 minutes, 7.8 points per game and ranked among NCAA leaders in three-pointers per game and three-point accuracy. She finished her career ranked fifth in CU history with 220 trifectas. All of this to say that, despite her 5-foot-6 frame, she left big shoes to fill. Those shoes likely won’t be filled by any one player.
If we were answering this question in March, the answer would likely have been Taylor Johnson. Unfortunately for TJ and for the Bluejays, the redshirt sophomore reinjured the ACL which forced her to sit out all of last year, during a freak accident at a Creighton camp this summer. Johnson’s 5-foot-11 frame and outside shooting ability (32 three-pointers as a freshman) would have made her a perfect fit for the Bluejay offense as they head into the Big East. Alas, because of her injury, Johnson will not see any playing time for a second consecutive season.
Since we’re answering this question in November, our answer isn’t so clear cut. Following Monday’s exhibition, it appears the starting role vacated by Jensen will be filled by senior Jordan Garrison. Garrison has averaged 14 minutes per game during her first three seasons, while knocking down 76 career three-pointers. The senior three-point specialist showed an expanded game last year, as defenders keyed on her long range shot, she demonstrated an ability to put the ball of the floor and get to the basket. Garrison will need to improve her three-point accuracy (career 28.9 3FG%) if she wants to see her minutes increase this year. A gym rat who undoubtedly put up thousands of shots over the summer, the Jays will need that work to pay off to see increased production from the Missouri native.
Jordan Garrison (WBR/Mike Spomer)
If Garrison can’t find her shooting stroke, who else might see minutes at the two-guard? Ally’s younger sister Sammy may play some minutes here, but most of her time will be spent spelling Marissa Janning at the point. Keep an eye on freshman Lauren Works. She’s put herself in position to play regular minutes and even challenge Garrison for the starting role. Works has a game comparable to Ally Jensen, as the Lincoln Southwest product is a heady player with great outside range.
How will Marissa Janning and McKenzie Fujan handle increased offensive responsibility?
The question isn’t how Janning, Creighton’s leading scorer last year, and Fujan, the third-leading scorer, will score more. It’s how they will handle the ball. Remember that despite being hobbled throughout the 2012-13 season, Carli Tritz still led the team with 122 assists. Tritz’s scoring was down, but what kept her on the court was her playmaking ability. Both Janning and Fujan have proven more than capable of being exciting playmakers, but can they consistently value the ball and get their teammates involved in the action? Janning, the 2013 MVC Freshman of the Year and preseason All-Big East honoree, did finish her rookie season with a positive assist-turnover ratio (80-74), but head coach Jim Flanery wants to see that number improve. Fujan can excite with her passes, but she’ll need to be more cautious and improve upon her negative career assist-turnover ratio (131-190), as she can expect to have the ball in her hands more often this year.
What can we expect from this frontcourt?
Creighton’s frontcourt of seniors Sarah Nelson and Alyssa Kamphaus, junior Alexis Akin-Otiko and redshirt freshman Brianna Rollerson is without a doubt the most talented collection of post players assembled in Jim Flanery’s 12 years at the helm. Talented? Yes. Tall? No. Flanery’s motion offense doesn’t require a lot of size in the post and the Jays are certainly accustomed to facing taller teams, but a quick look through Big East rosters proves how small the Jays are. Creighton is the only team in its new league that does not list more than one player above 6-foot-1. In fact, seven of Creighton’s nine Big East foes list four or more players who stand at least 6-foot-1. Georgetown, Seton Hall and Villanova each list six players 6-foot-1 one or taller.
Nelson is a known commodity. The senior was a first-team all-MVC forward last year and was tabbed to the Big East preseason team this fall. The Omaha native is 6-foot-nothing, and is no stranger to matching up against taller players. Despite being undersized, Nelson pulled down 258 rebounds last year, the third highest total in program history. Creighton will continue to use Nelson’s size to its advantage, as the best passing post-player in the NCAA can stretch an opponent’s defense with both her passing and outside shooting ability.
Sarah Nelson (WBR/Mike Spomer)
The other three pieces to the puzzle are harder to figure. The 6-foot-3 Kamphaus started all 33 games in the middle for the Jays last year. As her minutes doubled last year, so did her scoring and rebounding numbers. The Seward, Neb., native will need to limit the foul trouble she’s found herself in throughout her career if she intends to increase her scoring and rebounding this year.
A three-forward lineup could be something Bluejay opponents need to prep for this year, as the Jays showed in their exhibition game on Monday night. The emergence of Akin-Otiko and Rollerson (and an injured guard corps) made that three-post lineup possible. Akin-Otiko demonstrated her abilities in CU’s NCAA second-round loss at Tennessee last year, looking comfortable and scoring a game-high 12 points against the Lady Vols. Rollerson looked pretty comfy herself on Monday night, scoring a game-high 16 points to accompany four blocked shots and two steals in CU’s exhibition win over Fort Hays State. This duo could play a large role for the Jays this year and it will be interesting to see how Flan works them into the playing rotation.
This foursome will need help from their backcourt mates if the Bluejays want to compete on the glass game-in and game-out. Flan’s teams are consistently intelligent, and this frontcourt can make up for its lack of size simply by executing what is being asked of them and not trying to play bigger than they are.
Can Creighton compete for the Big East title?
Simply put, yes. The Big East coaches apparently think so too, with two tabbing the Bluejays their preseason favorites. Creighton was picked by Big East coaches to finish second in the league this year. And why wouldn’t it be? The Jays return four starters and four seniors (on the active roster) from a team which tied for the MVC regular-season title and won 25 games last year. One has to believe Creighton’s two recent NCAA Tournament appearances also earned respect in its new league. In 2012, 14th-ranked St. John’s need a last-second shot to get by Creighton 69-67 in the first round and in 2013 the Bluejays knocked off 22nd-ranked Syracuse (then a Big East member) 61-56 in the first round.
The Bluejays will need to get past a talented top-half of the league, led by preseason favorite DePaul. The Blue Demons have appeared in 11 straight NCAA Tournaments, a span which dates back to their time in Conference USA. DePaul, who will serve as hosts to the Big East Tournament this year, is led by preseason player of the year Brittany Hrynko.
What’s your prediction for the season?
First of all, I want to preface this by saying I’m admittedly a horrible prognosticator. But as I see it, the Jays will put together an 8-4 non-conference record, including wins in each of their five home games. A 12-6 record during their first run through the Big East will put them at 20-10 heading into the Big East Tournament. A semifinal loss will give them a 21-11 record with a solid RPI that will earn them an at-large bid into their third consecutive NCAA Tournament. Outside of a guarantee that they will not face a Big East team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this year, I’ll end my paragraph of guessing here.
As the Bluejays make their inaugural journey through the Big East, follow the women’s basketball team on Twitter (@CreightonWBB) for an inside look at the team and its various activities, on and off the court. Follow myself (@IamRobSimms) and Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) throughout the year for in-depth coverage of the women’s basketball team for White and Blue Review.