Bluejays Back Home Against Kansas State Monday

Game 4 vs. Kansas State • Monday, Nov. 23 • 7:05 p.m.
Kansas State Wildcats at Creighton Bluejays
Ryan Athletic Center & D.J. Sokol Arena • Omaha, Neb.
Radio: 1180 AM, www.koilam1180.com • Video: www.gocreighton.com
Series History: Kansas State leads 15-4
Last Meeting: K-State won 64-55, Dec. 9, 2008 in Manhattan

• The game can be heard on KOIL AM 1180 in Omaha and online at www.koilam1180.com. Brad Burwell and former Bluejay Sara Cizek Going will call the action.

• Live stats for this game and all home games can be found on the CU athletics website at www.gocreighton.com.

• Live video for all home games are available for an annual fee of $69.95 or a monthly fee of $11.95. More information is available at www.gocreighton.com.

• Creighton went 0-6 against the Big 12 last year and its last win over a Big 12 school was against Kansas State on Dec. 18, 2007.

• The Jays were 15-of-30 from three-point range against Davidson (Nov. 15) in their last home game, falling one three-pointer shy of the school record.

• Creighton's 28 three-pointers in its first two games this season mark the most threes in consecutive games in school history. The Jays are 28-of-61 (.459) from long range at home this season.

• CU scored 77 points in each of its first two games this year – equalling its number of games with at least 75 points scored in 34 games last season.

• The Jays are 4-15 all-time against K-State, but three of the four wins have come in Omaha, including the last time KSU visited.

Scouting the Bluejays
The Bluejays are the preseason favorites in the MVC, earning 34 of 40 first-place votes in the official Valley poll ... Creighton returns seven letterwinners and four starters from last year's team which finished 22-12 and 14-4 (2nd place) in the MVC ... The Jays advanced to the second round of the WNIT for the second straight season last year and played in the event for the fifth time in seven years ... The Jays return three of the top nine scorers in the MVC, including 2009-10 MVC Preseason Player of the Year, senior forward Megan Neuvirth ... Neuvirth, the reigning MVC Defensive Player of the Year, set a school record with 325 rebounds last year, leading the league in rebounds and steals per game, while also topping the team in assists, blocked shots and double-doubles ... Senior point guard Chevelle Herring, a second-team all-MVC honoree last year, leads the team with 13.7 points per game ... Junior guard Kelsey Woodard hit six three-pointers in the season-opener after leading the MVC with 88 last year ... Junior forward Sam Schuett has returned after a medical redshirt season in 2008-09.

Scouting the Wildcats
Kansas State carried an 0-2 record into a Friday night game against Washington State, dropping home games to Indiana State and Arkansas State to open the season ... KSU averaged 76 points in its first two games, but allowed 78.5 ppg ... Ashley Sweat, a national Player of the Year candidate, leads the team with 16 points and 8.5 rebounds ... Sweat was 19-of-23 (.826) at the free-throw line in her first two games ... Kari Kincaid chips in 15.5 ppg, while three other Wildcats average at least 10.

The Coaches
Jim Flanery (Creighton, 1987) is in his eighth season as head coach, where he has led his team to five WNIT postseason appearances and four 20-win seasons. He owns a career record of 133-93 (.588). In 2003 he became the winningest rookie coach in school and MVC history and led the Jays to the 2004 WNIT Championship. Prior to serving as CU's head coach, Flanery served as CU's top assistant for a decade.    Deb Patterson (Rockford College, 1979) is in her 14th season as head coach at Kansas State, where she is 265-148 (.642). She has led the Wildcats to seven NCAA Tournaments, including the last two, in which they advanced to the second round.

Creighton-Kansas State Series History
Kansas State owns the all-time series lead with the Bluejays, 15-4. The Bluejays defeated the eventual Big 12 champs, 69-62, in Omaha on Dec. 18, 2007 the last time the Wildcats visited. KSU won 64-55 in Manhattan last year, overcoming an early 11-point Bluejay lead. The Bluejays are 3-5 against K-State in Omaha.

Last Year at Kansas State
The Bluejays jumped out to a 13-2 start over the first four minutes of the game, but would score only nine points in the final 15:41 of the first half, allowing Kansas State to claim a 26-22 halftime lead on Dec. 9 in Manhattan. The Jays tied the game at 35 in the second half, but K-State responded with eight straight points to take control. Chevelle Herring led all players with 23 points, while Kelsey Woodard finished with 15 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Ashley Sweat scored 16 of her team-high 20 points in the second half, going 8-for-9 at the free-throw line. The Jays held All-American Shalee Lehning to just eight points. Bluejay starting center Kristina Voss played just two minutes in the game due to an ankle injury suffered in the game's opening minutes.

Battling the Big 12
Creighton plays its first of four games against Big 12 opponents with its game against Kansas State on Monday. Last year the Bluejays went 0-6 against the Big 12 and have not topped a Big 12 foe since defeating K-State 69-62 on Dec. 18, 2007. CU is 7-19 against the Big 12 under Jim Flanery – Colorado 2-0; Iowa State 0-2; Kansas 2-5; Kansas State 1-4; Missouri 0-1; Nebraska 2-5; Oklahoma 0-1; Texas Tech 0-1.

The State of Basketball in Nebraska
Creighton's starting lineup in each of its first three games has featured all Nebraska natives – the first time in recorded school history the Bluejays have started five home state players. In fact, seven of CU's 10 players on this year's roster are from Nebraska – Bellevue natives Chevelle Herring (East) and Kelsey Woodard (West), Omaha products Jasmin Corbin (Millard West) Kellie Nelson (Westside) and Sam Schuett (Millard West), along with Katie Frank (South Sioux City) and Megan Neuvirth (West Point Central Catholic).

Road Openers
With its 66-59 loss at Marquette (Nov. 19), Creighton has now lost its last 10 road openers, with its previous win in its first road game of the year coming at Tulsa on Nov. 24, 1999 (after CU opened the season at home). The Jays are 8-28 all-time in their first road contest of the season, 0-8 under Jim Flanery.

It's Raining Threes
Creighton made 28 three-pointers in its first two games of the season – setting a school record for three-pointers in a two-game span. The previous mark also came in the first two contests of a season, when the 2004-05 team drained 27 threes (14,13) in its first two games.
• The Jays have now made at least 10 three-pointers in a game 37 times under Jim Flanery (since 2002-03).
• CU had not made at least 10 treys in consecutive games since making 12 on Jan. 4 and 11 on Jan. 6, 2008.

13 on the 13th, 15 on the 15th
Creighton made 13 three-pointers in their debut at D.J. Sokol Arena on Nov. 13 against Arkansas State and then followed with 15 triples on Nov. 15 against Davidson. Could the Jays be ready to hit 19 three-pointers on Thursday? The 13 treys were the most by the Bluejays in a season-opener since sinking 14 of a school-record 37 attempts on Nov. 19, 2004 against Northwestern. The 15 threes were just one shy of the school record, 16, set on Dec. 6, 1989.

Herring Hits 20
Chevelle Herring led all players with 20 points in CU's win over Davidson (Nov. 15), her eighth career 20-point effort. Her first seven 20-point games came last year, including four in the first eight games of the season.

Sam She Is
Junior Sam Schuett has returned to her rebounding form after missing all of last year while taking a medical redshirt because of an ankle injury. The Omaha native leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per game, including a team-high 11 boards at Marquette (Nov. 19) for her 17th career game with at least 10 caroms.

Cleaning the Glass
Creighton owned a 53-36 rebounding edge over Arkansas State (Nov. 13) in its season-opener, including an impressive 36-16 advantage in the first half. CU's 53 boards were its most in a regulation contest since nabbing 53 rebounds against Louisiana-Monroe on Dec. 10, 2005.

The Race to 1,000
There is a three-way race on the Bluejays this year to see which player can become the 20th member of the 1,000-point club. Megan Neuvirth is currently leading the charge with 885 career points, followed by Chevelle Herring's 872 and Kelsey Woodard's 814 points. No Bluejay trio has ever surpassed the 1,000 point plateau in the same season. Woodard, a junior, is aiming to become the first junior to reach 1,000 career points at CU since Angie Janis did so in 2004-05.

Career Milestone Watch
• Megan Neuvirth played in her 100th career game in CU's season opener.
• Neuvirth has 219 career steals, moving past Christy Neneman (211) into sole possession of sixth place on the CU career list and just four shy of the top-five. At 730 rebounds, she needs three boards to move into sixth place on the CU career rebounding list.
• Kelsey Woodard is one three-pointers shy of becoming the eighth player in school history with 150 career threes.
• Chevelle Herring needs one steal to reach 99 in her career after tying her career-high with four steals at Marquette (Nov. 19).

Solid Starts from Three
Creighton's freshmen guard duo of Jasmin Corbin and Ally Jensen fared well in their first two collegiate games, combining to go 7-for-14 (.500) from three-point range. Jensen was 4-for-7 (.571), including a 3-for-4 game against Davidson (Nov. 15), while Corbin made 3-of-7 (.429) from long range. Below is a list of the top-seven three-point shooters in school history and how they performed from distance in their first two games:

Career 3FG Leaders – First Two Career Games
Player    3FG-A (Pct.)    Career 3FG
Kathy Halligan    5-11 (.455)    309
Dayna Finch    3-6 (.500)    294
Laura Spanheimer    4-9 (.444)    250
Missy Miller    4-14 (.286)    187
Holly Sivesind    3-4 (.750)    174
Ally Thrall    1-6 (.167)    154
Kelsey Woodard    0-7 (.000)    147

The 20-20-20 Precedent
Creighton has won at least 20 games in each of its previous two seasons. Taking a look at CU history, every time the Jays have won 20 games in a season, it has come in groups of at least three – winning at least 20 in three straight years (1985-87), four straight years (1991-94), three straight years (2002-04) and now two straight (2008-09) – setting a standard for this year's team to live up to.

Welcome Home!
Creighton's season-opener marked its first regular-season home game on campus since March 7, 1992 – an 81-69 win over Wyoming in the Vinardi Athletic Center (Old Gym). The 1991-92 team played four of its 14 home games at the Old Gym.

Home is Where the Wins Are
Creighton went 12-4 at home last year and is now 74-24 (.755) at home under Jim Flanery. The Bluejays are now 68-20 (.773) all-time in regular-season games on-campus (2-0 at D.J Sokol Arena, 26-12 at Kiewit Fitness Center and 40-8 at Vinardi Athletic Center). The Bluejays played 301 of their first 428 recorded home games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium where they posted a 213-88 (.708) record. Despite all of the moving, Creighton has managed to post a 313-117 (.728) recorded home record all-time at 12 different sites.

About the New Facility
Creighton will play all of its home games at the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center and D.J. Sokol Arena this year, a 75,600 square-foot facility which seats approximately 2,950 fans. In addition to the arena, the facility also includes a locker room, weight room and training room for the student-athletes and houses coaches' offices, meeting rooms, athletic staff offices, a media work room and much more. More information can be found on the facility in the first four pages of the 2009-10 Women's Basketball Media Guide.

Preseason Picks
The Bluejays have been picked as the preseason favorites in the MVC preseason poll as voted on by league coaches, media and sports information directors. CU received 34 of a possible 40 first-place votes and 393 of 400 points in the poll. This marks just the third time in 18 seasons as MVC members that the Jays are preseason favorites. CU was picked to win the title in 2002-03 and would go on to share the regular-season crown that year. The 1994-95 team was also picked first, but would finish fourth.

Statistically Speaking
Creighton led the MVC and ranked eighth in the NCAA with just 13.5 turnovers per game last year. CU's 56 points allowed per game were fewest in the MVC, ranked 31st in the NCAA and marked the Jays' best team defense since the 1977-78 team. The Jays also led the MVC with 226 three-pointers and a plus-1.6 turnover margin last year.

They're Back
The Bluejays return seven letterwinners and four starters, while losing just one major contributor from last season's team. Senior Chevelle Herring, senior Megan Neuvirth and junior Kelsey Woodard started all 34 games for the Bluejays last year, while senior Kelsey Crites (11) and sophomore DaNae Moore (18) split starting duties at guard, with Crites closing the year in the starting line up. Kristina Voss started 31 of the 34 games and is the only major loss from last year's team.

Schuett Returns From Medical Redshirt
The Jays also return starting forward Sam Schuett who missed all of last season after suffering an ankle injury in practice on Oct. 31. The redshirt junior led the Jays and ranked fourth in the MVC in rebounding with 6.8 boards per game as a sophomore in 2007-08. Schuett, a member of the MVC All-Freshman team in 2006-07 averages 8.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in her career.

Playing the Percentages
The Bluejays return 83.9 percent of their scoring from last year, including three of the MVC's top-nine scorers from 2008-09. They return 84.0 percent of their rebounding from last year – and will also welcome 2007-08 leading rebounder Sam Schuett back to the line up after a medical redshirt season. They also bring back 88.2 percent of their assists from last year.

Welcome to Creighton
The Bluejays welcome two freshmen to the team this season. Jasmin Corbin is a Omaha Millard West product, where the 5-foot-6 guard played for one season alongside redshirt junior Sam Schuett. Corbin had 10 points, making 3-of-6 three-pointers in CU's exhibition. Ally Jensen, from Ames, Iowa, attended Ballard High School, where the 5-foot-7 guard owns school records for career three-pointers (220) and steals (261).

More on Megan
Senior Megan Neuvirth, the MVC Preseason Player of the Year, was named the 2008-09 MVC Defensive Player of the Year, All-MVC First Team, MVC All-Defensive Team and MVC All-Tournament Team after leading the MVC in both steals (83) and rebounds (325).
• Her 325 boards established a school record (by 65) and ranked eighth in single-season history in the MVC.
• She was one of five players in the NCAA to rank in the top-50 in steals and rebounds per game last year.
• In addition to leading the team in steals and rebounds, Neuvirth also topped the team in assists (96), blocked shots (34) and double-doubles (9) – the most double-dimes by a Bluejay since the 1990-91 season.
• She enters her senior season ranked sixth in school history with 211 career steals and seventh with 714 career rebounds – both are tops among active MVC players.

Exhibition Summary
Creighton played just one exhibition game for the third time in the last four years, but also played a closed door scrimmage at Iowa on Nov. 1. The Bluejays defeated Nebraska-Omaha, 80-57, on Nov. 5 at D.J. Sokol Arena. Kelsey Woodard's 17 points led five Bluejays in double figures, as all 10 CU players played at least 12 minutes in the game. Megan Neuvirth led the team with seven rebounds and six steals, while Kelsey Crites came off the bench to lead the Jays with five assists.

The First Since Our Last
Creighton's exhibition with UNO on Nov. 5 was the Bluejays' first game played on campus since a 100-48 exhibition victory over a Lithuanian team on Nov. 7, 2001 in the Vinardi Athletic Center (Old Gym).

Kelsey Can Shoot
Junior Kelsey Woodard was named honorable-mention All-MVC and to the MVC All-Tournament Team last year after leading the conference with 88 three-pointers made and 37.6 minutes played per game. Her 88 treys were the fourth most in school history and ranked fifth in single-season MVC history. Woodard's 2.6 threes per game ranked 21st in the NCAA and her 140 career treys already ranks eighth in school history. Her 84.6 free-throw percentage last year led the team and was the fifth-best percentage in school history.

MVC Single-Season 3FG Made
        No.    Player, School    Season
    1.    104    Melody Howard, MSU    1993-94
    2.    98    Dayna Finch, CU    2003-04
    3.    91    Dayna Finch, CU    2001-02
    4.    90    Kiersten Miller, Drake    1996-97
    5.    88    Kelsey Woodard, CU    2008-09

Chevy Keeps Rolling
Senior Chevelle Herring was honored on the All-MVC Second Team last year after leading the team and ranking sixth in the MVC with 13 points per game. Chevy ranked second on the team in three-pointers made (64), assists (93), steals (45) and free-throw percentage (72.6).

Another Tough Schedule
Creighton again plays one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the MVC, facing four Big 12 teams, a Big East squad and an Atlantic-10 foe. The Jays play host to 2009 Final Four participant Oklahoma on Dec. 20 – the third Bluejay opponent to come to Omaha this decade following a Final Four run the previous season (2001 Final Four - Missouri State, 2004 Final Four - Minnesota).

Neuvirth Sets Rebounding Record
Senior Megan Neuvirth crushed the Creighton rebounding record last year, logging 325 boards – far surpassing Janet Ensign's former mark of 260 set in 1986-87.
Her 325 caroms tied for eighth in a season in MVC history, becoming just the 10th player in league history with 300 boards in a season. Neuvirth's 9.6 rebounding average was the highest rebounding average by a Bluejay since Cathy Tryon's 9.6 per game in 1979-80.

MVC Single-Season Rebounds
        No.    Player, School    Season
    1.    534    Wanda Ford, Drake    1984-85
    2.    506    Wanda Ford, Drake    1985-86
    3.    408    Wanda Ford, Drake    1983-84
    4.    367    Wanda Ford, Drake    1982-83
    5.    366    Angela Buckner, WSU    2001-02
    6.    341    Alex Cook, UNI    2001-02
        341    Angela Buckner, WSU    2000-01
    8.    325    Megan Neuvirth, CU    2008-09
        325    Amy Rackers, SIU    1989-90
    10.    320    Roshonda Reed, MSU    1998-99

Players Mentioned

Jasmin Corbin

Kelsey Crites

Katie Frank

Chevelle Herring

Ally Jensen

DaNae Moore

Kellie Nelson

Megan Neuvirth

Sam Schuett

Kristina Voss

Kelsey Woodard

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