Women's Basketball Hosts Drake on Sunday
12/13/2014 6:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. - After just missing an upset over #12 Nebraska on Thursday, the Creighton women's basketball team is anxious to get back out on the floor. The Bluejays will get their chance on Sunday agaisnt Drake.
12/14: - Drake (4-4) at Creighton (4-5) - 2:05 p.m. (CT)
Radio: 1180 AM
Brad Burwell (Play-by-Play) & Rob Simms (Color Analyst)
http://player.streamtheworld.com/liveplayer.php?CALLSIGN=KZOTAM
Video: gocreighton.com
http://www.nmnathletics.com/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1000&DB_OEM_ID=1000
Stats (Free):
http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=crei
Twitter: @GoCreighton, @CreightonWBB
Bread Crumbs
- One of the Bluejays longest and most fierce rivalries is Creighton and Drake.
- Separated by just under three hours, the Bulldogs hold the series lead, 38-24.
- Last season Drake got the best of Creighton in their first meeting as non-conference opponents since 1977, 62-55.
- Drake also holds the series advantage in Omaha, 14-11.
- The Bluejays, however, took the most important recent meeting between the two squads, 53-38, in the 2012 MVC Tournament Championship game.
- Creighton has won eight of the last 12 meetings with the Bulldogs.
Last Time Out: #12 Nebraska 60, Creighton 57
The Creighton women's basketball team made a furious second-half comeback only to fall just short against intrastate rival Nebraska, 60-57, on Thursday, Dec. 11.
Trailing 33-17 at the half, Creighton began to claw its way back immediately as senior Alexis Akin-Otiko drained a three-ball. After a Nebraska turnover, Akin-Otiko pump faked a three to earn an easy layup to pull the Bluejays within 11 (33-22).
Down 37-24 with 15:54 left, Akin-Otiko connected from long range once more. On the defensive end Akin-Otiko blocked a shot by Nebraska's Brandi Jeffrey, then freshman Sydney Lamberty followed with a running layup to make it 37-29 (14:34). Another trey from Akin-Otiko moments later got the Bluejays within seven (39-32), but Nebraska was able to push its lead back to 14 points (47-33) with 8:16 remaining.
Once more the Bluejays answered with a 5-0 burst led by a three-pointer from Akin-Otiko. This time sophomore MC McGrory followed with a short jumper. The two teams went on to trade buckets, but Creighton got triples from junior Marissa Janning and McGrory to get back within seven at 53-46 (4:39).
Trailing 57-48 with just over three minutes left the Bluejays mounted one final run. Lamberty got things going via a layup from the left side, then Akin-Otiko knocked down her sixth trey of the night to make it 57-53.
A critical charging call went against the Bluejays to negate a bucket by Janning, but Creighton held on defense and got a bucket from Akin-Otiko to make it a one possession game at 57-55 (0:33).
Nebraska's Hallie Sample hit three of four free throws down the stretch, but the Bluejays had the look at a game-tying three in the closing seconds.
About Drake
- Located in Des Moines, Iowa
- Founded in 1881.
- Known as the Bulldogs.
- Drake has an enrollment of 5,348.
- The Bulldogs finished 2013-14 with an 17-15 record and a 9-9 mark in the MVC.
- Drake returns seven letterwinners from last season, including three starters (Clark, Heap & Wendell).
Drake Head Coach: Jennie Baranczyk, Third Season (Iowa, 2004)
- Baranczyk has compiled a 32-39 record in her first three seasons.
- Former University of Iowa standout and Des Moines native, Jennie (Lillis) Baranczyk was named the sixth head women's basketball coach at Drake University on April 17, 2012.
- The Bulldogs advanced to the MVC title game last season, falling to Wichita State.
Scouting Drake (4-4)
The season got off to a rough start for the Bulldogs as senior Kyndal Clark went down with a knee injury in the opening game of the season with South Dakota. Clark scored 17 points in the game before the injury and has over 1,000 points in her career.
Despite seeing its top scorer the last two season go down in the first game, the Bulldogs have battled. After dropping its first three games, Drake has won four of five to even its record at 4-4. The first victory was an impressive win, 89-77, over Wisconsin.
Sophomore Lizzy Wendell has taken the scoring vacancy created by Clark's absense, averaging 21.4 ppg. Fellow sophomore Caitlin Ingle has also increased her production, averaging 13.1 ppg.
Defensively the Bulldogs have struggled at times, allowing 71.2 points per game.
Keys to the Game w/Drake:
- Getting off to a Strong Start: Creighton has gone into halftime down 16 points in each of its last two games. This is not a pattern the Bluejays want to continue.
- Take care of the basketball: Battles between the Bulldogs and Bluejays often turn into low scoring scrappy contests. Last season Drake forced the Bluejays into 22 turnovers. The result was 23 Bulldog points.
- Clean the Glass: Creighton and Drake both lack a great deal of heighth, thus desire will play a larger role on the glass. Creighton must go to the board to earn and prevent second chance opportunities.
The Rubber Game with the MVC
After dropping the season opener at Wichita State this season, Creighton pulled even with foes from its former conference with a 58-56 win over Northern Iowa on Monday. The Bluejays would love nothing more than to move to 2-1 this season and 2-2 overall against the MVC since joining the BIG EAST last year.
Last Time vs. Drake (3-3-13): L, 55-62 @ Drake
Despite jumping out to a 2-0 lead, the Bluejays stumbled through the opening five minutes as Creighton trailed 14-4 with 14:50 remaining in the first half.
Head coach Jim Flanery called 30-second timeout and his words seemed ring with his squad as the Bluejays scored the next eight points to pull within a bucket at 14-12. Sammy Jensen got the Blujays run going with a three-pointer from the corner, followed by a layup from Sarah Nelson and capped by a trifecta from Marissa Janning.
Drake held the Bluejays at bay until McKenzie Fujan gave Creighton the lead back at 23-22 with 5:49 on a three-pointer from the top of the key. The Bluejays continued to push ahead down the stretch of the first half, taking a 30-26 edge into the locker room at the break.
The second half, however, belonged to the Bulldogs. Drake opened the period with back-to-back three pointers to take a 32-30 lead with 19:12 on the clock. The Bulldogs pushed their lead to four at 36-32, but Creighton battled back to tie the game on two free throws and a jumper by Janning. Following a Drake bucket, Fujan gave Creighton a 39-38 edge (10:45).
Drake responded with a 10-2 run to take a 48-41 lead with 7:09 remaining. While the game never got out of reach, Creighton would get no closer than four the rest of the way.
Janning led all scorers with 21 points, before fouling out in the final minute of play.
Drake got 19 points from Kyndal Clark, 16 points from Morgan Reid and 13 by Lizzy Wendell.
The key statistic of the game was turnovers as Creighton committed 22 turnovers, leading to 23 Drake points.
Drake Domination or Bulldog Lover
Marissa Janning truly has enjoyed her time against the Drake Bulldogs. Janning has scored 20+ points in each of the three times she has faced Drake, including 21 on Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. Her career-high of 29 points came on March 3, 2013 against Drake. Two years ago in Des Moines on Feb. 2, she finished with 22 points.
Akin-Otiko Sets One D.J. Sokol Arean Record, Ties Another
After hitting just two three-pointers in her first three season, its more than an understatement to say that senior Alexis Akin-Otiko has found her stroke. The Bellevue native was a perfect 6-for-6 from long range against Nebraska on Dec. 11.
Akin-Otiko's six trey tied the mark for most trifectas in a game, while her perfect 6-for-6 set a new high for treys without a miss. The previous record was 3-for-3, held by Sam Schuett vs. Illinois State, March 4, 2010.
Akin-Otiko's six trifectas tied the amount dropped by McKenzie Fujan last season against DePaul on Jan. 4, 2014.
