I have spent the past two weeks posting one mesmerizing sports-related fact a day on social media. From Major League Baseball to UConn basketball, I have been impressed with the intriguing tidbits I have discovered. Example A is included below.
Here is another fun one: The UConn women’s basketball team has never allowed more than 60 points in their nine all-time meetings against the Creighton Bluejays.
That fact might become outdated this upcoming season, however.
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Creighton returns four out of their five starters and three bench players from last year’s second-round squad. None of the Bluejays’ starters missed a game, yet only three of them averaged double figures. Those three each earned All-Big East First Team honors, though. It was one more than the number of Huskies represented.
Senior guard Lauren Jensen scored 20+ points in three out of her last four contests and lit the fuse for Creighton’s effective offense. Her 17.4 points per game, which ranked sixth in the Big East Conference, came at a 44.3% clip from the floor. That might not seem significantly impressive, but no Bluejay took more than Jensen’s 469 shots.
Only one other player, fellow fifth-year senior Morgan Maly, attempted as many threes as the 2023 3x3 national champion did. Maly’s hard work paid off; 43 of her 70 three-pointers on the season came across the Bluejays’ final 20 games. Creighton’s leading rebounder combined that with a furious habit on the boards, picking up three double-doubles in her fourth season in Omaha.
Maly could record more of those next year because of All-Big East First Team forward Emma Ronsiek’s departure. Ronsiek transferred to Colorado State for her final season of eligibility, reuniting with her younger sister Hannah in the process. The absence of the Bluejays’ principal shot-blocker feels similar to former men’s team point guard Ryan Nembhard’s transfer to Gonzaga the offseason prior.
But E. Ronsiek is to Nembhard as Central Missouri transfer Brooke Littrell will be to BYU transfer Steven Ashworth. Littrell averaged 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds during her four years with the Jennies, earning All-MIAA First Team honors in each of her last three campaigns. Division I basketball, let alone the Big East, is a different beast altogether. The seismic increase in toughness between both leagues should turn the 2023 Division II WBCA All-American into one of the game’s best forwards.
Littrell will likely be collaborating with graduate forward Mallory Brake, whose low scoring numbers should not fool any opponent. Even though she was the lone starter who converted less than half of her free throws, Brake brings a defensive chaos spanning both boards and the transition game. The Minnesota native led the team with 56 steals and finished second with 29 rejections.
Molly Mogensen, Creighton’s leading dime dealer, brings that same intensity without necessarily swatting shots. The Bluejays averaged 35.6 rebounds last season, and Mogensen’s 5.1 per game played an immense role in that category.
Just because Creighton has an exceptional starting five does not mean they lack depth. Guards Jayme Horan, Kennedy Townsend and Kiani Lockett appeared in a combined 80 games off the bench. Lockett and Townsend both affected the transition game and made their mark elsewhere on last year’s squad. The former shined as a quality point guard who regularly passed the rock to her open teammates; the latter consistently collected missed shots.
Horan appeared everywhere, even if she never played more than 20 minutes in any contest. The Omaha native supplied a scoring boost when her team needed it, and her 2.1 rebounds a night can make her another defensive-minded wing. First-year guard Allison Heathcock and Fort Hays State transfer Sydney Golladay round off the Bluejays backcourt. Both come to Omaha with valuable experience passing the ball and forcing turnovers, and it should add a boost to Creighton’s offensive machine.
This is the last year Flanery has with his current core; all four returning starters and two bench players are exercising their final year of eligibility. If everything goes according to plan for the Bluejays, the 2024-25 season could feel like a women’s basketball version of “The Last Dance.” No one will know if this rendition results in a national title triumph until March Madness, though.
Creighton reached the Elite Eight in 2022 as a No. 10 seed, and they have the talent to make it back to that round in 2025. Reaching it again should give the Bluejay program the national attention and respect it deserves.
How the Huskies can defeat Creighton next season
Creighton will, without a doubt, be UConn’s toughest out in their 18-game conference schedule next season. They have as deep a backcourt as any of the other 10 teams in the Big East. It will likely be the primary talking point of both regular-season duels.
Flanery’s guards, in particular, may be keen on drawing fouls. After all, no Bluejay committed 90+ last year, while two Huskies exceeded that number. Head coach Geno Auriemma’s solution to that guard-specific dilemma does not come from the lineup that he creates. The 40th-year head coach has—at full strength—enough depth at the position should any of his starters get into foul trouble.
Instead, Auriemma’s goal should be to have every one of his forwards produce at an elite level over 40 minutes of play. Creighton’s frontcourt depth is stunningly thin; their lone listed forward after Maly, Littrell and Brake is true freshman center Elizabeth Gentry. One forward getting into foul trouble should not perturb the Bluejays. Two players stricken with multiple fouls might stir some concern on the sidelines.
This approach best benefits redshirt senior Aubrey Griffin, who should be Connecticut’s X-factor because of what she can do down low. A complete performance from Griffin plus stellar outings from one of Sarah Strong or Jana El-Alfy could cause some costly confusion among Creighton’s forwards. Other approaches have worked in the past, including silencing the Bluejays from behind the arc. This season, though, having a fiery frontcourt may be the strategy that stumps Creighton.
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