Women's Basketball Hosts Drake in MVC Opener Friday

Game 12 vs. Drake • Friday, Dec. 31 • 3:05 p.m.
Drake Bulldogs at Creighton Bluejays
Ryan Athletic Center & D.J. Sokol Arena • Omaha, Neb.
Links: Audio (1180 AM) | Video | Live Stats
Series History: Drake leads 34-20
Last Meeting: CU won 65-62, March 12, 2010 in St. Charles, Mo.

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

• Creighton is opening the MVC season at home for just the second time in the last eight years (2007-08).

• The Bluejays are 12-6 all-time in MVC openers, 6-2 in their first MVC game of the year under Jim Flanery and 8-1 in their last nine MVC home openers.

• Creighton is 4-2 at home this year is 27-6 in its last 33 home games, with two of those six losses coming at Qwest Center. The Jays are 16-4 all-time in D.J. Sokol Arena.

• Kelsey Woodard and Carli Tritz were named MVC Player and Newcomer of the Week, respectively on Monday for their play in wins over North Dakota and Kansas last week.

• Woodard averaged 20 points per game and shot 50 percent from the field (14-28) and three-point range (5-10) in her last two games.

• Ally Jensen made 10-of-18 (.556) three-pointers against Drake last year. She made a career-high six threes and had a career-best 18 points against DU in the MVC tourney.

• Creighton has won four straight against Drake, but has never won five straight vs. DU.

Scouting the Bluejays
Creighton (21-11 last year) is picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference this year, receiving seven first place votes ... Creighton is 6-5 on the year after once again playing the toughest non-conference schedule in the MVC ... CU's strength of schedule after non-conference play is 39, while the rest of the MVC's average is 182 ... Creighton ranks second in the MVC with 6.6 three-pointers per game, shooting 34 percent from long range ... Senior Kelsey Woodard, the reigning MVC Player of the Week leads the team with 13.0 points per game, 23 three-pointers and 90.9 free throw percentage ... Three-time MVC Newcomer of the Week, freshman Carli Tritz (9.7 ppg) leads the team and ranks second in the MVC with 28 steals ... First-team all-MVC forward Sam Schuett (9.8 ppg) leads the team with 7.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game ... Senior Kellie Nelson (8.1 ppg) leads the team in field goal percentage (.479) and younger sister freshman Sarah Nelson ranks second on the team with 4.5 rebounds per game.

Scouting the Bulldogs
Drake snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over Air Force last Wednesday ... DU is 2-1 in true road games ... The Bulldogs rank second in the MVC in scoring defense (61.8), FG percent (.432), assists (14.5), steals (9.4) and turnover margin (+2.2) ... Senior guard Kristin Turk leads the MVC with 19.6 points and 3.1 steals per game, and tops DU with 3.8 assists per game and 25 3FG ... Rachael Hackbarth tops the team with 6.3 rebounds to go along with 13.3 points per game ... Freshman Angela Christianson (9.4 ppg) ranks second in the MVC with 90.0 free throw percentage.

The Coaches
Jim Flanery (Creighton, 1987) is in his ninth season as head coach at his alma mater, where he has led his team to six WNIT postseason appearances and five 20-win seasons. He owns a career record of 158-107 (.596), the highest winning percentage by a coach in CU history. 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. Flan is 10-10 against Drake in his career. Amy Stephens (Nebraska, 1991) is in her eighth season at Drake and her 16th as a collegiate head coach. Stephens is 124-104 at Drake and 321-147 overall. She led DU to a share of the MVC regular-season title in 2007-08 and the MVC Tournament title in 2006-07. The Nebraska native was previously head coach at Division II Nebraska-Kearney.

Creighton-Drake Series History
Drake owns the all-time series lead with Creighton 34-20 – the most played opponent in CU history. The Jays are 9-13 all-time against the Bulldogs in Omaha, while CU has won six of the last nine meetings with Drake in Omaha. The Jays have won four straight meetings with Drake for the third time in the series history and are looking for their first five-game winning streak in the series. CU has won five of the last six meetings, including all three last year.

Individuals against Drake
Ally Jensen excelled against Drake as a freshman, averaging 11.3 points per game while making 10-of-18 (.556) three-pointers in three games against DU last year. She scored a career-high 18 points and drained a career-best six three-pointers against DU in the MVC Tournament. Sam Schuett averages 10.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game against DU, shooting 48.4 percent (30-62) from the field and 42.3 percent (11-26) from three-point range in eight career games against Drake. She averaged 15.7 points and 7.7 boards against DU last year. Kellie Nelson averaged 10.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game against DU last year and averages 6.5 points and 3.4 boards vs. Drake in her career. Kelsey Woodard averages 7.1 points and 4.3 rebounds against DU in her career, shooting just 9-of-35 (.257) from three-point range in eight games against the Bulldogs.

Last Year Against Drake
Creighton defeated Drake three times in one season for the first time in history, sweeping the regular-season series and ended the Bulldogs' season in the MVC Tournament semifinals. The Jays topped the Dogs 74-61 in Omaha last January, 77-57 in Des Moines in February and 65-62 in St. Charles in the postseason. CU shot 47.3 percent from the field and averaged nine three-pointers per game against DU last year with an average winning margin of 12 points. The Bluejays had four players score in double figures each meeting with Drake last year, with Sam Schuett (19), Megan Neuvirth (19) and Ally Jensen (18) serving as the leading scorer in each contest, respectively. Jensen's 18 points are a career-high, as they came on six three-pointers. CU made 11 threes against DU in their MVC Tournament win.

MVC Opening Information
• Since joining the Missouri Valley Conference in 1993, the Bluejays have gone 12-6 in Valley openers.
• Creighton opens the MVC season at home for just the second time in the last eight seasons, when it hosts Drake. It last opened at home during the 2007-08 season against Wichita State on Jan. 4, 2008, an 83-47 win.
• The Jays are 6-2 in their first MVC game of the year under Jim Flanery, with both losses coming at Illinois State (2006-07 and 2008-09 seasons).
• CU is 14-4 all-time in its first MVC home game of the season, including 7-1 under Flanery. CU's only loss under Flanery in its home Valley debut came on Jan. 4, 2007, a 56-53 loss to Northern Iowa.
• Creighton has won eight of its last nine MVC home debuts, including an 89-48 win over Wichita State last year.
• The Jays' average winning margin in their last three MVC home openers is 35.3 points.
    • 89-48 vs. Wichita State (Jan. 7, 2010)
    • 92-63 vs. Missouri State (Jan. 8, 2009)
    • 83-47 vs. Wichita State (Jan. 4, 2008)

Strength of Schedule is Tops in MVC
As it annually does, Creighton again played the strongest non-conference schedule in the MVC. With non-conference play concluded, the Bluejays' strength of schedule (SOS) through Dec. 28 was 39. Only one other school in the MVC had an SOS of better than 131 – Missouri State's 88. In fact, the other nine teams in the MVC have an average SOS of 182 – 143 spots lower than Creighton's. MSU has the best RPI (50), while CU ranks second in RPI (73), according to CollegeRPI.com. Drake's RPI is 134 and its SOS is 131.

New Year's Eve Basketball
The Bluejays are 4-2 all-time in New Year's Eve games, including 3-1 under Jim Flanery. The Bluejays won 55-44 at Indiana State last year on Dec. 31. Creighton has played just one home game on Dec. 31 previously, defeating UMKC 77-59 on Dec. 31, 1994.

Closing the Year with a Win
Creighton's game against Drake is its final contest in 2010. The Bluejays have won their final game of the calendar year in each of the last three seasons and have won their last game of the year eight of the last nine seasons. The only loss in that span came on Dec. 31 at Indiana State (89-62 in 2006).

Decembers to Remember?
Creighton needs a win against Drake to post a winning month of December for the first time since 2007. The Bluejays are 30-25 all-time in December under Jim Flanery, but have not had a winning record in the month since going 3-1 in 2007. The Jays have posted three winning Decembers under Flanery – 2002 (6-1), 2004 (5-1) and 2007 (3-1). CU was 3-3 in December in 2008.

Longest Home Stand Since 1999
Creighton is concluding its longest home stand since 1999 – the first of two four-game home stands for CU this season, after not playing one four-game stand over the past 11 seasons. This current home stand marks the first time the Jays have played four straight at home since Jan. 21-31, 1999. The Jays play a four-game conference home stand between Jan. 27 and Feb. 5, the longest MVC home stand since that same 1999 stretch.

Tritz Honored For Third Time
For the third time in the first seven weeks of her career, Carli Tritz was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week on Monday, Dec. 27. The freshman guard, who also won the honor on Nov. 29 and Dec. 13, again filled up the stat sheet in games against North Dakota and Kansas last week. She averaged 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game, making 7-of-12 (.583) shots. She is now halfway to the MVC record six Newcomer of the Week honors won by Kelsey Woodard during the 2007-08 season.

Woodard is MVC Player of the Week
Kelsey Woodard was named the MVC Player of the Week on Dec. 27 after her performances against North Dakota and Kansas. Woodard averaged 20 points and 3.0 assists per game, making 50 percent of her field goals (14-28) and three-pointers (5-10) in the two contests. It was her second career Player of the Week honor, and first since Feb. 4, 2008.

Home is Where the Wins Are
Creighton is 16-4 (.800) all-time at D.J. Sokol Arena, posting a 12-3 home record last year. The Bluejays are now 88-29 (.752) at home under Jim Flanery (since 2002-03), including 56-16 (.778) in MVC play at home under Flanery. Creighton has won 27 of its last 33 home games, with two of those six losses coming at Qwest Center Omaha.

Bluejays Establish Highs vs. North Dakota
Creighton enjoyed its highest scoring game in more than seven years on Dec. 20, cruising to a 96-57 win over North Dakota. The 96 points were the most scored by the Jays since winning 96-86 at Siena on March 22, 2003. In addition to the season-high point total, the Jays also put up season-highs in field goals (33), field-goal percentage (.611), three-pointers (12), assists (24), steals (12), blocked shots (9) and points in the paint (40). CU's 96 points, 33 field goals and 55 points in a half (2nd) all established D.J. Sokol Arena records as well.

Individual Highs
In addition to the multiple team season-best numbers against North Dakota (Dec. 20), several individuals also set career highs in the win. McKenzie Fujan scored a career-best nine points, making 4-of-6 shots. Jasmin Corbin led the team with a career-high five assists. DaNae Moore led the Jays with a career-best three steals.

Scoring in the 90s
Creighton's 96 points in its win over North Dakota (Dec. 20) were the most points scored by the Bluejays in a game since a 96-86 win at Siena on March 22, 2003 in the WNIT. It was the first time the Jays had scored 90 points since a 92-63 win over Missouri State on Jan. 8, 2009. The Jays improved to 8-0 when scoring at least 90 points under Jim Flanery.

Defense at D.J.
With a 4-1 mark in their home arena this year, the Bluejays are 16-4 all-time at D.J. Sokol Arena. In those 20 games, the Bluejays have allowed 55 of fewer points eight times – including twice this year. Bluejay opponents are averaging just 56.7 points per game in the 20 games played inside D.J. Sokol Arena, while the Jays are averaging 66.4 points per game in their new home venue.

Flan Schedules the Big Boys (or Girls)
With Creighton's win over Marquette on Nov. 28, head coach Jim Flanery now has twice as many wins against BCS schools than the next closest MVC school since his first campaign in 2002-03. Flanery's 18 wins against BCS schools in that span are twice as many as Drake (9). In fact, Flan has more wins against BCS schools in that span than Bradley has games played (16) against BCS schools. His 18 wins also equal the number of games played by Evansville, Indiana State and Wichita State against BCS schools in that same span. Creighton's game against Kansas (Dec. 22) was its 60th against a BCS program since 2002-03, the next closest MVC school is Drake, which has played 38 games against BCS schools in the same span.

MVC Records vs. BCS since 2002-03
School    Games    Wins
Creighton    60    18
Drake    38    9
Illinois State    26    8
Missouri State    29    7
Indiana State    18    6
Northern Iowa    34    4
Wichita State    18    4
Evansville    18    3
Bradley    16    2
Southern Illinois    21    0

Tritz Takes
Carli Tritz leads the team and ranks second in the MVC with 28 steals. She has grabbed at least two steals in all but one game this year, leading the team in steals in eight of her first 11 games. She topped the team with five steals against Marquette (Nov. 28), as she became the first Bluejay freshman to record five steals in a game since Megan Neuvirth had five in the 2007 MVC Tournament championship game against Drake.

Jays Ranked No. 16 in Mid-Major Top-25
Creighton is ranked No. 16 in the most recent CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The Jays were ranked No. 20 in the preseason, climbed to 18th during the first two weeks of the regular-season, 16th in the third week, 14th in the fourth week, 15th in week five, 14th in week six and now 16th. Two of CU's first three games were against Mid-Major top-10 teams, topping eighth-ranked Liberty and falling at fifth-ranked Bowling Green. Bowling Green was also receiving votes in the AP Top 25 and the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 to start the season.

Youth Movement
Creighton has six freshmen on the roster this season, with four making their collegiate playing debut during CU's opening week. Sarah Nelson, who has the only double-double by a Bluejay this year, became the first rookie to start a game this season, when she earned the nod against North Dakota State (Dec. 18). Carli Tritz, who scored a game-high 21 points against Nebraska (Dec. 8), started her first game on Dec. 20 against North Dakota. McKenzie Fujan scored the first five points of the season for CU, and had a career-high nine points against UND (Dec. 20). Alyssa Kamphaus scored eight points in eight minutes at Bowling Green (Nov. 15), making all three of her field goal attempts in the game.

Turnovers Trending Down
After opening the season with 28 turnovers against Liberty (the most by CU since it had 29 in the final game of the 2007-08 season), the Bluejays have learned how to take care of the ball. The Jays are now averaging 14.9 turnovers per game, including just 10.5 per game in their last six games. The Jays committed a season-low six turnovers at South Dakota (Dec. 2), tied for the fewest committed by the Jays under head coach Jim Flanery.

Schuett's Milestones
Sam Schuett joined some elite groups of players during Creighton's game with Nebraska (Dec. 8), becoming the 23rd player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points and the seventh player to reach 700 career rebounds. She is the sixth CU player to have both 1,000 points and 700 rebounds in a career.

Tritz or Treat
Freshman Carli Tritz scored a game-high 21 points against Nebraska (Dec. 8) to become the first Bluejay rookie with a 20-point game since Kelsey Woodard scored 29 against South Dakota State on March 20, 2008. Tritz scored at least 10 points in four straight games (Nov. 20 - Dec. 8), the longest streak by a CU freshman since Sam Schuett scored 10+ points in five straight in 2007. The guard made 4-of-6 three-pointers against NU after entering the game 1-of-5 from long range through her first six contests.

Home Winning Streak Snapped
Creighton's loss to Nebraska (Dec. 8) snapped its nine-game home winning streak – the Bluejays' longest since winning 23 straight at home between the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. The Bluejays have still won 27 of their last 32 home games dating back to 2008-09.

Bench Impressed
Creighton's bench has out-scored the opponent's bench in 10 of its first 11 games and before its game at No. 18 Notre Dame (Dec. 11), the bench had out-scored the opponent's bench in each of its first seven games.   The Irish reserves out-scored CU's bench 34-11. Before that game, the CU bench had out-scored opponents 170-84, highlighted by a 22-0 edge against Marquette (Nov. 28). The Bluejay bench is averaging 22.1 points per game, while the opposition's bench is averaging 13.5 points per contest.

Woodard's Shooting in South Dakota
Kelsey Woodard scored 24 points at South Dakota on Dec. 2, her highest scoring game since putting up 27 against Indiana State on Jan. 3, 2009. It was the ninth time in her career she has scored 20 points in a game and was the fourth-highest scoring game of her career. Her career-high of 29 points also came in the state of South Dakota, when she led the Jays to a WNIT win at South Dakota State as a freshman. She is 18-for-24 (.750) from the field and 6-of-8 (.750) from three-point range in two games played in South Dakota.

Schuett's Assists are Up
Sam Schuett leads the team with 30 assists this year. Her 3.1 assists per game rank seventh in the MVC. She dished a career-high eight assists in a 63-61 win over Marquette (Nov. 28) and followed with six assists at South Dakota (Dec. 2). The eight assists were the most by a Bluejay since Ally Thrall's nine on March 20, 2008. The eight helpers also established a D.J. Sokol Arena record.

Winning Novembers
Creighton went 3-2 in November to post a winning record in November for the third time in the last four seasons. The Bluejays are now 13-9 in November in the last four years, after going 6-12 in the first five Novembers under head coach Jim Flanery. The Jays finished with 21 wins in each of the two seasons (2009-10 & 2007-08) in which they posted a winning November under Flan.

Leading vs. Losing
Creighton's win over Wyoming (Nov. 20) marked the fourth time at D.J. Sokol Arena that the Bluejays never trailed in a game. The Jays have now had as many games where they have led wire to wire (4) as they have lost (4) at their new home.

Woodard's Numbers
Kelsey Woodard hit seven three-pointers in her first three games this year to become the fourth player in school history and the 22nd in Missouri Valley Conference history to reach 200 career three-pointers. With 143 points through 11 games this year she now has 1,224 points in her career, moving past her sister Kristi (1,110, 19th) on the Creighton career scoring list. The younger Woodard ranks 16th in CU history in scoring.

Low Scoring Win
Creighton defeated Liberty 40-35 to open the season at the Sheraton Raleigh Wolfpack Invitational on Nov. 12. The 40 points were the fewest scored by the Bluejays in a win since a 40-23 victory over Doane College (Neb.) on Feb. 21, 1977 and the fewest scored overall by the Jays since a 50-35 loss to Eastern Michigan on Dec. 21, 2000. The 35 points for Liberty where the fewest it had scored in a game since Dec. 29, 1993.

Sarah's Solid Start
Freshman Sarah Nelson led the Bluejays with 14 points and 10 rebounds against North Carolina State (Nov. 13). The double-double was the first by a Bluejay freshman since Kelsey Woodard logged her only career double-dime on Jan. 4, 2008 against Wichita State. The rookie led the team in rebounding in three of CU's five games and earned her first career start against North Dakota State on Dec. 18.

Woodard Named All-Tournament Team
Kelsey Woodard led the Bluejays with 10 points per game at the Sheraton Raleigh Wolfpack Invitational, earning her all-tournament recognition at the event. Against Liberty, she drained three three-pointers in the second half to account for all nine of her points and to help CU come from behind and win. She added two more threes and 11 points in the championship game against North Carolina State.

Kelsey Can Shoot
Kelsey Woodard is one of 23 players in school history with 1,000 career points. Woodard is the second-most accurate free-throw shooter in school history (.850), trailing only her sister Kristi (.862) in that category. She is ranked fourth in school history and 15th in league history with 216 career three-pointers.

Schuett Lowe's Senior CLASS Candidate
Sam Schuett has been named one of 30 candidates nationally for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award which honors seniors for their efforts on and off the court. CLASS stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School and to be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in community, classroom, character and competition. Schuett graduated magna cum laude with a degree in accounting in May, has served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, ranked 12th among CU's 232 student-athletes in community service hours last year and is a first-team all-conference player on the court. Ten finalists for the award will be named in January. Creighton is one of five school's nationally (Wisconsin, Ohio State, Lehigh, Duke) to have a male and female as Lowe's Senior CLASS candidates, as CU's Kenny Lawson Jr., is up for the award as well.

Flock of Freshmen
Half of the Creighton roster is made up of freshmen this season. The six-member freshman class equals the largest rookie class in the nine-year tenure of head coach Jim Flanery, as the 2005-06 team also had six freshmen. All six Bluejay rookies this season are on scholarship, marking the first time since the 1997-98 season that Creighton has at least six freshman on scholarship. Only four freshmen have played through three games, as Riley Norman suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason and Jordan Garrison is sidelined with a leg injury.

Norman to Redshirt
Freshman forward Riley Norman will take a medical redshirt this season after suffering a torn right ACL during preseason work outs. The rookie had surgery on Oct. 18 to repair the knee, which she also injured at the end of her senior year of high school.

Playing the Percentages
Even with three of their top four scorers back, the Bluejays return just 59.9 percent of their scoring from last season. The Jays return 54.4 percent of their rebounding and only 43.4 percent of their assists from last year, as they lost their top two ball distributors Chevelle Herring (81) and Megan Neuvirth (73).

Creighton's Sisterhood
One of Creighton's six freshmen is Sarah Nelson, younger sister of Bluejay senior Kellie Nelson, continuing a recent trend of sisters playing for the Jays. Current senior Kelsey Woodard followed in the footsteps of older sister Kristi (2002-06), while Laura (2001-05) and Krissie (1997-01) Spanheimer also had a family tradition at Creighton. The Nelsons however, are just the second recorded sister duo to play alongside each other at Creighton, joining Peggy and Patty Bierle during the 1978-79 season.

I'll Take 3-Pointers for 200 Alex
Creighton led the MVC and ranked 21st in the NCAA making 233 three-pointers last year, the third straight season CU eclipsed 200 threes. The Jays have made at least 200 triples in five of Jim Flanery's eight seasons at the helm. Prior to Flanery's tenure, the Jays had made 200 three-pointers in a season just twice in 15 seasons with the three-point line.

Nebraska Natives
For the fourth consecutive season, at least half of Creighton's roster is from Nebraska. Last year the Bluejays started five Nebraskans in 29 of their 32 games, marking the first time in recorded history the Jays had an all-Nebraska lineup in one game - let alone 29. Seven of Creighton's 12 players on this year's roster are from Nebraska – Omaha products Jasmin Corbin (Millard West), Kellie Nelson (Westside), Sarah Nelson (Westside) and Sam Schuett (Millard West), Bellevue native Kelsey Woodard (Bellevue West), Seward High graduate Alyssa Kamphaus and Weston native by way of Wahoo Bishop Neumann, McKenzie Fujan.

20-20-20 Vision
Creighton has won at least 20 games in each of its previous three seasons. In school 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 again in three straight (2008-10). The Bluejays have now won 20 games in five of Jim Flanery's eight seasons as head coach. Flanery's predecessor Connie Yori won 20 games three times in her 10 years as CU's head coach, while Bruce Rasmussen captured 20 wins in five of his 12 years leading the Bluejays.

Another Tough Schedule
Creighton again plays the toughest non-conference schedule in the MVC, as eight of the Bluejays' 11 non-conference games are against teams which appeared in the postseason last year, including a pair of NCAA Sweet 16 teams. CU hosted 2010 Sweet 16 participant Nebraska on Dec. 8 and then played at Sweet 16 team Notre Dame on Dec. 11. Liberty, Bowling Green and NC State all played in the NCAA Tournament last year. Wyoming, Marquette and Kansas played in the WNIT last year.

Welcome Coach Carrie Moore
The Bluejays have a new member of the coaching staff this season, assistant coach Carrie Moore. The Western Michigan graduate (2007) led the NCAA in scoring with 25.4 points per game and was the MAC Co-Player of the Year as a senior. She is Western Michigan's all-time leading scorer with 2,224 career points, starting all 120 games in her career for the Broncos. Moore spent the previous two seasons as the Director of Basketball Operations at Princeton.

Exhibition Recap
Creighton defeated Division II Northwest Missouri State 96-61 in its lone exhibition game on Nov. 3. The Bluejays jumped out to a 19-0 lead and never looked back, leading by as many as 41 in the contest. Creighton's five freshmen scored half (48) of the Bluejays' points in the win, led by Sarah Nelson's team-best 16 points. Fellow freshman Carli Tritz added 11 points and team-best seven assists and four steals, and rookie Jordan Garrison chipped in 10 points. CU's three returning senior starters each had 10+ points, with Kellie Nelson (14), Kelsey Woodard (13) and Sam Schuett (12) each contributing in the blowout. The Jays out-rebounded the Bearcats 52-38 and outscored NWMSU 58-12 in the paint. CU shot 54.1 percent from the field and 41.2 (7-17) percent from three-point range in the win.

Preseason Picks
The Bluejays have been picked to finish third in the MVC preseason poll as voted on by league coaches, media and SIDs. CU received seven first place votes, second only to preseason favorite Missouri State's 27. The Jays earned 328 points in the poll, just one behind second-place Northern Iowa. The Jays have finished even or higher than their predicted finish in six of Jim Flanery's first eight years at the helm.

Updated & Extended Coverage
Fans will notice Creighton home games not only have a new live stats platform, but will also benefit from Creighton's change to BCS Stats. The new live stats provider allows fans to follow the live action on their mobile device at www.gocreightonstats.com. Fans can also find more info on Bluejay athletics on Facebook at the “Official Creighton Athletics Page” and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gocreighton. The women's basketball team also has its own Facebook page, with inside glimpses into the program. Fans can also read assistant coach Carrie Moore's blog “Tuesdays With Moore” each Tuesday on www.gocreighton.com.

Women's Basketball Hosts Drake in MVC Opener Friday

Players Mentioned

Jasmin Corbin

McKenzie Fujan

Jordan Garrison

Chevelle Herring

Ally Jensen

Alyssa Kamphaus

Kenny Lawson Jr.

DaNae Moore

Kellie Nelson

Sarah Nelson

Megan Neuvirth

Riley Norman

Sam Schuett

Carli Tritz

Kelsey Woodard

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