Women's Basketball Plays at Kansas Wednesday
11/15/2011 4:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Creighton Bluejays at Kansas Jayhawks
Game #3 • Wednesday, Nov. 16 • 8:00 pm
Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) • Lawrence, Kan.
Series History: KU leads 22-12 overall; KU leads 13-5 in Lawrence
Twitter: @GoCreighton, @CreightonWBB
Audio | Video | Live Stats
Game #3 • Wednesday, Nov. 16 • 8:00 pm
Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) • Lawrence, Kan.
Series History: KU leads 22-12 overall; KU leads 13-5 in Lawrence
Twitter: @GoCreighton, @CreightonWBB
Audio | Video | Live Stats
• Creighton is 2-0 on the season for the third time in 10 seasons under Jim Flanery.
• The Bluejays have won their first two road games of the season for the first time since 1995. Creighton has opened the season with consecutive road wins in its first two games for the first time in school history.
• Creighton is looking for its first 3-0 start since 1992. CU has started a season 3-0 three times previously – 1984, 1986 and 1992.
• The Bluejays are looking to win their first three road games of the season for the first time since the 1995 team won its first three on the road.
• Prior to its 72-54 win at North Dakota to open the season, Creighton had not won its first road game of the year since 1999 and had not won a season-opener on the road since 1998.
• Jim Flanery's .597 winning percentage is tops in school history.
• With 172 career wins, Flanery now ranks second in school history. He opened the season tied with his predeccesor Connie Yori (170).
• Creighton is shooting 46.7 percent from the field through two games, the best two-game start in 10 seasons under Flanery and the best start since 1994.
• Sarah Nelson was named the MVC Player of the Week on Monday after she tied her career-high with 17 points at North Dakota and recorded her second career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds at North Dakota State.
• Creighton is looking to snap an eight-game losing streak in the Kansas series. CU has not defeated KU since 2004 and has not won in Lawrence since 2002.
Scouting the Bluejays
The Bluejays are picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference this year ... Creighton returns eight letterwinners and four players with starting experience from last year's team which finished 18-13 and 12-6 (T-2nd) in the MVC ... CU lost three senior starters from last year's team ... The Jays advanced to the WNIT for the fourth straight season last year, tying a school record for consecutive postseason appearances ... Nine of CU's 12 roster spots are filled by underclassmen ... Carli Tritz, the 2011 MVC Freshman of the Year, led the team in assists (98), steals (67) and field goal percentage (.478) last year and is already CU's active career leader in leader in points (367), free-throws (71), free-throw attempts (106), steals (68) and assists (106) ... Tritz (22) and junior Ally Jensen (19) started the most games last year of any returners, but CU's lone senior DaNae Moore (15) and sophomore Sarah Nelson (9) also spent time in the starting lineup last year ... Nelson, who led the team in blocked shots last year, joined Tritz on the MVC All-Freshman team ... CU's 2010-11 roster includes three freshmen, including Bellevue (Neb.) West graduate Alexis Akin-Otiko, who averaged 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in her first two college games last week.
Scouting the Jayhawks
Kansas is picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 this season after posting a 21-13 overall record last year ... KU went 6-10 in the Big 12 and played in the WNIT in 2010-11 ... The Jayhawks return four starters and seven letterwinners from last year ... Point guard Angel Goodrich led the team with 14.0 ppg in two exhibition games, followed by Carolyn Davis (13.0 ppg), Monica Engelman (13.0 ppg) ... Davis, who missed the season-opener, led the team with 19.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg and a 66.0 field goal percentage, which ranked second in the NCAA. Davis is a candidate for the Woodard Award and the Wade Trophy.
The Coaches
• Jim Flanery (Creighton, 1987) is in his 10th season as head coach at his alma mater, where he has led his team to seven WNIT postseason appearances and five 20-win seasons. He owns a career record of 172-116 (.597). One of seven coaches in MVC history with 100 league wins, he led the Bluejays to the 2004 WNIT Championship. He is the second-winningest coach in school history and his winning percentage is tops at Creighton. Prior to serving as CU's head coach, Flanery served as CU's top assistant for a decade.
• Bonnie Henrickson (St. Cloud State, 1986) is in her eighth season at Kansas, where she is 118-108 (.522). Prior to KU, Henrickson was head coach at Virginia Tech for seven seasons. She is 276-170 (.619) in her 15th season as a head coach.
Creighton-Kansas Series History
Kansas ranks behind Nebraska as the second-most played non-conference opponent in Creighton history, as the Jays and Jayhawks meet for the 35th time on Wednesday. CU trails the all-time series with KU 12-22. Kansas has won the last eight meetings, after Creighton had won five straight in the series. CU is 5-13 all-time in Lawrence, including five straight losses at Allen Fieldhouse. CU's last win in the series came on Dec. 21, 2004 and its last win in Lawrence was Dec. 14, 2002.
Last Year vs. Kansas
An 11-0 run midway through the second half helped Kansas beat Creighton 64-58 at CenturyLink Center last year in Omaha on Dec. 22. CU led 39-35 in the second half before KU made five straight shots to claim the lead for good. Kelsey Woodard led all players with 21 points, Carli Tritz added 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Carolyn Davis led three Jayhawks in double figures with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Aishah Sutherland had 14 points and 8 rebounds, while Angel Goodrich had 12 points and five assists for KU.
Battling the Big 12
Creighton is 4-18 against teams currently in the Big 12 under head coach Jim Flanery. The Bluejays have not defeated a Big 12 foe since topping Kansas State 63-54 on Nov. 23, 2009. The Jays last won on the road against a current Big 12 team on Dec. 14, 2002 when it won at Kansas. That does not include Creighton's win at Colorado in 2004 when the Buffaloes were league members.
Nelson Earns MVC Honors
Sarah Nelson opened her sophomore season in style by earning MVC Player of the Week honors. The forward tied her career-high with 17 points, making 7-of-8 field goals in CU's opener at North Dakota and followed with her second career double-double with 12 points and a career-high tying 10 rebounds at North Dakota State. She also shot 12-of-16 (.750) from the field in her first two games. Through two games she leads the team in scoring, rebounding, field goals, field goal percentage, free throws, free-throw attempts, steals and blocked shots.
Flan's Movement
Creighton opened the season with a 72-54 win at North Dakota, earning head coach Jim Flanery his 171st career victory. That win moved him ahead of his predecessor Connie Yori (170) alone into second place on the CU career victories chart. He now trails only Bruce Rasmussen's (currently Creighton's AD) 196 wins for tops in school history. Flan's two early season wins also moved his winning percentage back ahead of Yori (.596) for first in school history at .597.
Creighton Coaching Wins
Name Wins Seasons
Bruce Rasmussen 196 12
Jim Flanery 172 10
Connie Yori 170 10
Gaye Kinnett 33 3
Eddye McClure 26 3
Howard Faber 11 1
Not So Rocky Road
The Bluejays have won their first two road games of the season for the first time since 1995. Creighton has opened the season with consecutive road wins in its first two games for the first time in school history. Prior to its 72-54 win at North Dakota to open the year, Creighton had not won its first road game of the season since 1999 and had not won a season-opener on the road since 1998. CU is 2-0 to start a season for the third time in 10 seasons under Jim Flanery, while it is looking for its first 3-0 start since 1992. CU has started a season 3-0 three times previously – 1984, 1986 and 1992.
Shooting Stars
Creighton opened the year shooting 49.1 percent from the field in its 72-54 win at North Dakota and followed by shooting 44.4 percent in its 71-51 win at North Dakota State. The combined field goal percentage of 46.7 percent through two games marks the best shooting percentage to start the season in head coach Jim Flanery's 10 seasons. It is the best two-game start to the season from the field since the 1994-95 team shot 48.5 percent.
More Season Opening Information
Creighton's season-opening win moved the Bluejays to 5-5 in openers under head coach Jim Flanery. The Jays are now 1-5 in season-openers on the road and 1-9 in Flanery's first road game of the year.
Impact Freshman
Freshman Alexis Akin-Otiko had a pair of impressive performances in her first two college games last week. The rookie had seven points and a team-best five rebounds in just 13 minutes of play in her collegiate debut at North Dakota last Friday. She was 7-of-9 from the floor for 16 points in 16 minutes of action at North Dakota State on Sunday, tying for game-high scoring honors. She 5-for-5 from the free-throw line and averagng 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds to start her career.
Accuracy from Ally
Junior Ally Jensen has scored in double figures in both of CU's games this season, after she scored in double figures four times in 31 games last year. Her 16 points against North Dakota State were the most she'd scored since her career-high 18 points against Drake as a freshman in the MVC Tournament. Jensen, tied for the team-lead with 14.5 points per game, is shooting 7-of-14 from three-point range this season.
Garrison Happy to be Healthy
Jordan Garrison played in 16 games last year, missing the first 12 because of a stress fracture in her left leg. The sophomore three-point specialist was 4-for-20 from three-point range last year and scored 15 points all year. Through two games this year, the guard is 4-for-9 from long range with 12 points, scoring six in each Bluejay win.
Bluejays Blowout Bison
Creighton blasted North Dakota State 71-51 on Sunday, the Bluejays' first 20-point non-conference road win since a 78-56 win at Colorado State on Nov. 24, 2007. It marked just the third non-conference road win of at least 20 points under head coach Jim Flanery, with the first coming on Dec. 20, 2002 – 80-57 at UC Irvine.
Balanced Minutes
Coming into the 2011-12 season head coach Jim Flanery intended to use his bench more liberally and give his starters more rest – two big wins have allowed him to follow through on that plan. Of the 11 players that have played, 10 are averaging at least 11 minutes per game, nine are averaging better than 14 minutes and none are averaging more than 28 minutes played.
Exhibition Recap
Creighton cruised to an 83-26 win over Rockhurst in its only exhibition of the season on Nov. 2. The Bluejays forced 34 turnovers and had 18 steals in the game, with four steals each from sophomore Alyssa Kamphaus and freshman Alexis Akin-Otiko. Four Bluejays scored in double figures, led by Ally Jensen's 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from long range. McKenzie Fujan, Jordan Garrison and Kamphaus each added 10 points. Akin-Otiko also led the team with six rebounds, as CU outrebounded RU 45-32. The Bluejays shot 46.9 percent from the field and 43.5 percent (10-23) from three-point range, but just 50 percent (13-26) at the free-throw line. Sarah Nelson blocked six shots and added nine points in the win. Fujan, Nelson and freshman Taylor Johnson tied for team-high honors with four assists.
Preseason Picks
The Bluejays have been picked to finish fourth in the MVC preseason poll as voted on by league coaches, media and sports information directors. Sophomore Carli Tritz was named to the five-member preseason all-MVC team after her outstanding freshman campaign. Missouri State captured 36 first-place votes and are the preseason favorites, while UNI received the remaining four votes and is picked to finish second. Wichita State is the only other team picked above Creighton this year.
On Top of the Valley
Creighton has won more MVC games in the last nine years than any other program in the league. With 105 victories since the 2002-03 season, the Bluejays are the only Valley team to eclipse 100 conference wins in that span. All 105 wins have come since Jim Flanery took over, making him just the seventh coach in league history to win 100 MVC games.
Back in Blue
The Bluejays return eight letterwinners and two starters from last year's team. Sophomore guard Carli Tritz started 22 of her 31 games as a freshman last year, and junior guard Ally Jensen started 19 games last year. Two other returners also appeared in the starting lineup at times last year, with DaNae Moore making 15 starts and Sarah Nelson starting nine games.
We're Still Young
One season after half of the roster was made up of freshmen, the 2011-12 roster consists of 12 players, nine of which are underclassmen. The Bluejays have one senior (DaNae Moore), two juniors, five sophomores, three true freshmen and one redshirt freshman on the roster.
Creighton's Sister Act Continues
One of the three freshmen on this year's team is Sammy Jensen, the younger sister of junior Ally Jensen, continuing the recent trend of sisters playing for the Bluejays. Last year, Kellie and Sarah Nelson played alongside each other. Before the Nelson's played together, the last recorded sister duo to play on the same Bluejay basketball squad was Peggy and Patty Bierle during the 1978-79 season. Kelsey Woodard (2007-11) followed older sister Kristi (2002-06) and Laura Spanheimer (2001-05) followed in the steps of her older sister Krissie (1997-01) to solidify this basketball program as true family environment.
Tritz is Talented
Carli Tritz was named the MVC Freshman of the Year in 2010-11, after she led the team in assists (98), steals (67) and field-goal percentage (.478). Tritz, who was also named honorable-mention all-MVC, set an MVC record by earning MVC Newcomer of the Week honors nine times (in 17 weeks) last year. The guard led all MVC freshmen and newcomers in scoring (11.4 ppg), assist-turnover ratio (1.0) and field-goal percentage, while she led all league freshmen in steals.
Tritz Leads the Way
After only one season on campus, Carli Tritz entered her sophomore campaign as Creighton's active leader in points scored (367), free-throws (71), free-throw attempts (106), steals (68) and assists (106).
Super Sophs
Sarah Nelson joined Carli Tritz on the MVC All-Freshman Team in 2010-11. Nelson led the team with 29 blocked shots and ranked second with 137 rebounds. The forward was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week twice last year to give Creighton 11 of the 17 Newcomer of the Week honors last year.
It's Lonely at the Top
Forward DaNae Moore is the lone senior on this year's team. The senior started 34 of the 96 games she has played in during her first three years, averaging 13 minutes per game. The forward from Apple Valley, Minn., has more rebounds (252) than points scored (176) – averaging less than two points per game – in her career. Her 11-point performance at Northwestern in the final game of the 2010-11 season was the first double-figure scoring game of her career.
Jensen Takes Aim at 100
With seven three-pointers in her first two games, junior Ally Jensen is quickly closing in on 100 career trifectas in her career. She now has 86 career three-pointers, 14 shy of becoming the 16th player in school history to reach 100 career threes.
Home is Where the Wins Are
Creighton went 12-2 at D.J. Sokol Arena last year, improving to 24-5 (.828) in its first two seasons at its new home. The Bluejays are 96-30 (.762) at home under Jim Flanery, including 64-17 (.790) in MVC play at home under Flanery.
Nebraska Natives
Five of Creighton's 12 players on this year's roster are from Nebraska – Omaha products Jasmin Corbin (Millard West) and Sarah Nelson (Westside), Seward High graduate Alyssa Kamphaus, Wahoo Bishop Neumann product McKenzie Fujan and Alexis Akin-Otiko out of Bellevue West.
The Bellevue Bloodline
Freshman Alexis Akin-Otiko continues a trend at Creighton which began in 2002-03. Akin-Otiko attended Bellevue West, following in the footsteps of former Bluejays and fellow Bellevue West Thunderbirds Kristi and Kelsey Woodard. Kristi played for the Jays from 2002-06 and Kelsey played from 2007-11, meaning one T-Bird has been on the roster every year since 2002-03 – with the exception of 2006-07. CU has had at least one player from Bellevue on the roster every season for the last decade, as Chevelle Herring, a Bellevue East product, played from 2005-10.
Another Tough Schedule
As always, Creighton plays one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the MVC, one that features the 2011 NCAA National Runner-Up coming to Omaha. Creighton hosts North Carolina State on Nov. 27, the first ACC team to play against the Jays in Omaha. On Dec. 4, the Bluejays host Notre Dame for the first time in program history. The Fighting Irish, who lost to Texas A&M in the 2011 NCAA Title game, will be the fourth team in a decade to come to Omaha the year after it played in the Final Four – Missouri State (2002), Minnesota (2004), Oklahoma (2009). Seven-time reigning Mid-American Conference champion Bowling Green also plays at D.J. Sokol Arena on Dec. 18.
Playing the Percentages
Creighton lost three of its top five scorers from last year's team and returns 52.4 percent of its scoring from a year ago. The Jays return 58.3 percent of their rebounds and 56.4 percent of their assists from last year. Perhaps the most noticable statistical loss might be that the three 2011 seniors – Kellie Nelson, Sam Schuett, Kelsey Woodard – accounted for 2,669 of Creighton's 6,225 minutes played last year. So between the three graduated seniors, they played 42.9 percent of CU's minutes last year.
Flan Captures 100th MVC Win
Head coach Jim Flanery won his 100th career MVC game against Wichita State on Jan. 29, 2011, becoming the seventh coach in league history to reach that milestone.
Most MVC Coaching Wins (league games)
Name, School Wins Years
Cheryl Burnett, MSU 201 1988-02
Cindy Scott, SIU 199 1983-98
Jill Hutchison, ILS 170 1983-99
Tony DiCecco, UNI 117 1996-07
Lisa Bluder, DU 116 1991-00
Connie Yori, CU 109 1992-02
Jim Flanery, CU 105 2002-pr.
Flanery On Top of The Valley
Since taking over as the Bluejay head coach for the 2002-03 season, Jim Flanery has led the Bluejays to more Missouri Valley Conference wins than any other program in that span. See the chart below for records in regular-season MVC games since 2002-03.
MVC Records Since 2002-03
School W-L Pct.
Creighton 105-57 .648
Northern Iowa 99-63 .611
Indiana State 97-65 .599
Illinois State 97-65 .599
Missouri State 91-71 .562
Drake 89-73 .549
Bradley 72-90 .444
Evansville 64-98 .395
Wichita State 54-108 .333
Southern Illinois 42-120 .259
Bluejays Receive Two NLIs
Creighton received two National Letters of Intent on signing day last week, inking Brianna Rollerson and Marrisa Janning to its class 2012-13 freshman class. Janning is the highest rated recruit of any MVC team as ranked by Blue Star Basketball. Janning ranked 193 and Rollerson ranked 218 nationally by the recruiting service.
Brianna Rollerson
6-1, F, Omaha, Neb. (Central)
Rollerson was a first-team Class A All-State honoree by the Omaha World-Herald as a junior, after leading Omaha Central to their first state tournament appearance since 2002. The post player averaged 14.2 points and ranked third in the state in rebounds with 9.9 per game. Her 57.3 field goal percentage ranked second in Class A. She led the Eagles to a 25-4 record and the semifinals of the state tournament last year, scoring 25 points, going 10-for-10 from the field and 5-for-5 at the free-throw line in her team's loss, enough to earn all-tournament team honors. The first-team all-Metro Conference honoree was also named second-team SuperState by the Lincoln Journal Star and to the All-Nebraska Second Team by the Omaha World-Herald.
Marissa Janning
5-8, G, Delano, Minn. (Watertown-Mayer)
Janning begins her senior season at Watertown-Mayer High School having already scored 2,443 points in her varsity career, which began as a seventh-grader. As an eighth-grader she averaged 18.3 points and in each of her past three seasons she has been named her team's MVP while averaging better than 21 points per game each year. The point guard has been named to the all-conference and all-section team every year since eighth grade. She earned first-team All-Metro Honors from the Minneapolis Star Tribune as a junior when she ranked second in the Twin Cities metro area with 23.3 points per game. She was also a second-team all-state honoree as a junior when she added 7.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 4.3 steals per game. She's earned letters in volleyball and track and she's part of a basketball family with her brother Matt Janning having played professionally in the NBA D-League and Europe after a college career at Northeastern.
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