The women’s basketball team is not smiling as brightly after a loss to Kansas, but the Jays own a 4-2 record heading into the teeth of their schedule.
The first six games of the season have featured wins over Arkansas-Little Rock and Memphis and two victories in the Rocky Mountain Invitational, the teams first in-season tournament win since 1998.
They now hit a stretch in which the Jays will not play another home game until Dec. 18. Games against in-state rival Nebraska, Denver University and Iowa State lie ahead before returning home for a game against Kansas State. The Jays then go back on the road one more time before Christmas to play Oral Roberts.
“I am reasonably pleased so far,” said head coach Jim Flanery. “We have done enough things consistently but still have many things we can improve upon, especially heading into this part of our schedule.”
The Jays’ disappointing 91-56 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks at Phog Allen Fieldhouse Tuesday saw them fall behind 27-2 in the first half and struggle throughout the rest of the game.
“It’s hard playing from behind,” senior Sara Cain said. “When you are just trying to close the gap between each media timeout, it’s hard to play the game you want to.”
Creighton struggled from the field, shooting only 26.9 percent from the field and turning the ball over 26 times. Cain, the leading scorer for the Jays, had 12 while sophomore Sam Schuett came off the bench for 11.
The loss to Kansas came on the heels of a championship weekend in Fort Collins, Colo. at the Rocky Mountain Invitational. Cain won the tournament MVP award and Schuett was named to the All-Tournament team as the Jays defeated Kent State 71-57 and host Colorado State 78-56.
“I thought our balance was really shown [at the tournament],” Flanery said. “We had a chance to see everyone play and gain some confidence.”
The Bluejays bench has scored at least 30 points in each of the four wins so far this year. The team got out to early leads in both games of the Rocky Mountain Invitational, which allowed them to control the tempo and get playing time for many players .
The Bluejays had every active player score, forced Memphis into 29 turnovers and defeated the Tigers 90-57 on Nov. 19. Leading the way for the Jays was freshman Kelsey Woodard with 14 points. She chipped in a team-high 13 against Kent State and was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week. She averaged 11.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and one steal per game.
“My team did a great job of feeding me the ball while I was hot [against Memphis],” Woodard said. “I still have things to work on and definitely not satisfied yet.”
Creighton traveled to Piscataway, N.J. last Monday for a game against No. 5 Rutgers. Although the Jays lost the game, 62-43, they were within two points at 37-35 midway through the second half. Sara Cain and Ally Thrall each had a team-high 10 points and the Jays won the turnover battle 20-16.
“Winning the turnover battle was the biggest key to us staying in the game,” Flanery said. “We left feeling good about our team and the effort we turned in.”