Domination is an understatement when it comes to the Creighton women’s basketball team. It has a plethora of reasons to be excited as it looks toward the end of the season. The Jays (11-8, 6-2) are currently on a six-game winning streak and are playing lights out on defense. But their play certainly has not gone under the radar.
Since their Jan. 10 home game against conference foe Wichita State, in which they gave up 45 points, the Jays have held their opponents to under 50 points in each of the four games. In consecutive games since the Wichita State contest, they have given up 43, 47, 44 and 46 points to Southern Illinois, Evansville, Northern Iowa and Bradley respectively. This impressive feat has not been achieved since the 1978-1979 season, some 30 years ago.
On the season, they are a staggering 6-0 when holding their opponents to under 50 points and give up an average of only 58.5 points per game. That is the best defensive stand since the 1977-1978 season.
Head coach Jim Flanery has been impressed with the recent achievements.
“It means we have been guarding really well,” he said. “Our defense is doing a great job with rebounding. We certainly have not always been there on offense, but our defense has been doing well adjusting.”
Junior guard Chevelle Herring said this winning streak “means a lot” to her, as well as the team.
“We are finally getting into the groove of things and are at a point now where players are stepping up and into their roles,” she said. “It’s very exciting too and is just, overall, a confidence booster for us to be playing so well together.”
It has been hard for the team to get into that groove after early season-ending injuries to senior guard Michelle Kaus and junior forward Sam Schuett. Kaus scored 22 points in the season’s first two games while Schuett averaged nearly eight points and seven rebounds per game last season.
“Knowing that we have lost players that did a lot for us on the offensive end, it forces us to pay more attention to detail,” Herring said. “We definitely have to focus a lot more on our opponents and minimizing their strengths to maximize our chances to win these games.”
Flanery’s game plan also accounts for part of the defense CU is playing.
“We try to slow the game down to our pace,” he said. “We don’t have the depth to run up and down the court. Also, we have versatility on defense and we emphasize transition defense to defend against any easy points.”
But amid all this recent success, the team still believes that it has work to do.
“We are excited that we are getting better on defense,” junior forward Megan Neuvirth said. “But we also realize that we have a long way to go if we want to have a good defensive game against a great team like Illinois State.”
This Saturday, the Jays go on the road to Des Moines, Iowa to face the Drake Bulldogs (12-7, 6-2) who are also on a six-game winning streak. The game has championship implications as Creighton and Drake are currently tied for second place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings.
“We know that Saturday’s game is going to be tough both physically and mentally,” Neuvirth said. “They are a solid defensive team and we are going to have to execute on every possession.”