Women's Hoops Hits the Road to Battle Drake

Omaha, Neb. - The Creighton women's basketball team begins a challenging stretch of four games in five days on the road as the Bluejays face former Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 7 pm.

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11/24: - 7:05 pm: Creighton (2-0) at Drake (2-0)
Video - ESPN3: http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/id/2683515/NCAAW-Creighton-vs-Drake

Radio - 1290 AM: Brad Burwell (Play-by-play) & Glen Sisk (Analyst)

Stats (Free): http://creighton.statbroadcast.com

Series History: Drake leads series, 38-25

Bird Seeds

The Bluejays are just 10-31 in road openers as a program.
Creighton is 2-11 in its first road game of the season under Jim Flanery, including
losses at Wichita State last season (65-56 on Nov. 15) and at Drake (62-55) on Nov. 9, 2013.
Creighton's 2-0 start equally the best beginning to a season under Flanery as the Bluejays opened the 2011-12 season, the 2009-10 and the 2004-05 seasons with back-to-back victories.
The last time the Bluejays opened the season with at least three straight wins was in 199-92 when Creighton opened the year with four consecutive wins.
The program record for wins to open a year is eight (1986-87).
The Bluejays are 9-22 at Drake, earning its last victory in Des Moines on Feb. 2, 2013 (98-71).
Creighton has won nine of the last 13 meetings with the Bulldogs.
Drake is picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll.
The Bluejays were slated to finish fourth in the BIG EAST preseason poll.
Senior Marissa Janning has a habit or torching Drake, over four meetings she has scored 102 points against the Bulldogs (25.5 ppg).

Creighton vs. Drake:
Drake and Creighton first met in 1977 and hav played 63 times overall. Drake holds the all-time series edge, 38-25. Last season, Creighton won a battle in Omaha, 93-71, on Dec. 14.

Last five seasons vs. Drake:
Date   Result   Score/Site
12/31/10   W   58-51 in Omaha
3/5/11   L   54-65 at Drake
12/31/11   L   44-47 in Omaha
3/3/12   L   50-54 at Drake
3/11/12   W   53-38 in St. Charles $
2/2/13   W   98-71 at Drake
3/3/13   W   67-66 in Omaha
11/8/13   L   55-62 at Drake
12/14/14   W   93-71 in Omaha
$ - MVC Tournament game

About Drake

Located in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Shockers finished 2014-15 with a 20-11 record and a 15-3 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Drake returns four of five starters from one year ago.
The Bulldogs were picked to finish second in the MVC Preseason Poll.

Drake Head Coach: Jennie Baranczyk (Iowa, 2004), Fourth Season

Baranczyk has compiled a 50-46 record in her first four seasons.
A 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 in 2013-14, falling to Wichita State.

Scouting Drake (2-0)
Drake has opened the season with a bang, downing Iowa State (74-70) at home and taking down Wisconsin (89-70) on the road on Nov. 18.

Junior Lizzy Wendell has been the spark to the Bulldogs early fire with 18.0 ppg. Wendell is 15-of-27 from the field after two games. Three other Bulldogs are averaging double figures; freshman Nicole Miller (13.5), sophomore Maddy Dean (11.5) and freshman Sara Rhine (10.0).

Shooting just under 50% from the field (62-of-126, 49.2 %), offense has been ample for the Bulldogs (81.5 ppg). One weak area for Drake in the opening two games has been its defense. The Bulldogs are giving up 70.0 ppg.

Keys to the Game w/Drake:

Take Advantage of Turnovers: The Bulldogs have committed 37 turnovers in their first two games (18.5 per game). Creighton must use the extra possessions.
Move the ball on offense: In the first two victories senior Marissa Janning has been a distributor (19 assists). Janning must continue to find open teammates if the defense collapses on her.
Force Drake into tougher shots: The Bulldogs are shooting just under 50% on the season, Creighton must force Drake to shoot lower percentage shots.

Bluejay are 2-0 for just 4th Time Under Flan
Creighton's 2-0 start in 2015-16 marks the first time the Bluejays have claimed its first two contests since 2011-12. Creighton has opened a year 2-0 four times under head coach Jim Flanery. The Bluejays have never opened a season under Flanery, 3-0.

Season    Game 3 Opponent   Result
2004-05    at #10 Texas Tech   L, 70-98
2009-10   at Marquette   L, 59-66
2011-12   at Kansas   L, 59-73
2014-15   at Drake   ?

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Players Mentioned

Marissa Janning