Ever since Creighton’s post-Thanksgiving break, Emma Ronsiek has been tearing through her opponents, leading the Jays to a 4-1 record during that stretch, the only loss being to the undefeated Marquette Golden Eagles.
Over the Jays last five matchups, Ronsiek has scored 26.4 points per game, a mark that, if isolated, would put her at third nationally in ppg behind Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark, who is currently on a record-setting run, and JuJu Watkins, the most impressive freshman the sport has seen since Paige Buecker’s 2020-21 campaign, if not longer. It would place her as the best scorer in the Big East and the best-scoring forward in the country.
Even adjusting for her relatively slow start, Ronsiek’s 19.6 ppg currently places her as a top ten scoring forward, which has allowed the Creighton offense to explode around her. The Jays as a team have scored at least 70 in four of the five matchups, including a staggering 115-piont performance against Northern Iowa at the beginning of December. The lone exception came in the form a gritty win over South Dakota State on Dec. 21, when Ronsiek had a dip in scoring to 19, still a team high, to tie Creighton’s program record with seven blocks.
Ronsiek’s improved scoring has been in large part due to improved shooting from beyond the arc, where she’s shooting 43.9% on the season, improved from a 38.4% mark last year, while she’s attempted five or more threes in four of her last five games after averaging four attempts over the past two seasons.
“I think that gives defenses a different look when they’re trying to guard me on the three because then it opens up driving lanes,” Ronsiek said of her improved three-point shooting following a win over Drake. “You have to pick and choose, like who are you going to let score this time?”
Ronsiek’s success has led to surges for some of her teammates as well, such as senior guard Molly Mogensen, who has had her best two scoring performances of the season in the last five games, as well as her two highest assist totals and three of her four best rebounding games. It’s also allowed the Jays to win on nights where they weren’t shooting well from beyond the arc, a problem in past seasons. Creighton has had three sub-30% shooting nights from beyond the arc since returning from the Thanksgiving break, yet only lost one game to one of the hottest teams in the country.
The consistency of Ronsiek has also allowed the Jays to return to the clean offense they had in previous seasons. After having double-digit turnovers in six of their first seven games, the Bluejays haven’t turned the ball over more than eight times in their last four matchups. A large reason for that is Ronsiek’s gravity forcing opponents to stay home and play less aggressively in the passing lanes, which has allowed Creighton to put more shots up in their last five games than they were able to prior, jumping from 62 field goal attempts per game to 65, while their opponents have fallen from 60 attempts per game to 58.
Ronsiek is on a run that, if continued, would put her on track to be a strong contender for Big East Player of the Year. Creighton players have won the award twice previously, first Marissa Janning in 2014, and most recently, Jaylyn Agnew in 2020. Agnew is now an assistant coach for the Bluejays.
With Ronsiek’s offensive firepower and the stifling defense the Bluejays displayed against South Dakota State, fueled by Ronsiek’s paint protection, the Jays are in prime position to contend for a Big East title with the dominant force that is the UConn Huskies and the red-hot Marquette Golden Eagles, a feat the program has never achieved before.