Creighton Women’s Basketball Newsletter
Big East Conference
Head Coach Jim Flanery
14th Season
October Edition, 2015
A NOTE FROM FLAN...
Greetings,
I just returned from Big East Media Day in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
Sometimes I have to pinch myself that a kid from Guthrie Center, Iowa gets to do what I get to do
for a living. The opportunity that basketball has afforded me to travel is something I never could
have foreseen. I never got on an airplane until I’d lived two decades. Though travel is educational
and exhilarating in so many ways, that’s a really small part of why I have to pinch myself. Really,
my greatest professional fortune lies in getting to coach women of high character at a terrific
university.
Coaching women’s basketball at Creighton is an honor. It is hard in the ways that coaching
is hard. Winning is important and the pressure competitive people put on themselves to achieve
is something that can be stressful. But, at least in my mind, that is balanced against the easy
part of getting to work everyday with eager, hard-working, enthusiastic and thoughtful young
women. It is also balanced with getting to work with fun, talented, and driven staff members. In
fact, the opportunity to help educate and to develop relationships with young women pursuing
excellence in the classrooms and on the court is priceless. So too is the coach-coach relationship
I have with our staff. They are super fun people to be around, and it’s easy for me to find
opportunities to learn from them daily.
Jim Flanery
Creighton University Head Women’s Basketball Coach
Eight straight Post season appearences
2012 & 2013 NCAA Tournament
2016
2015
Let the Season Begin!
Preseason has come and gone. Season has begun! With a loaded nonconference schedule and a hungry team, this year’s Bluejays are ready to show
what they have been working on all summer and fall. The full roster of fifteen
includes four freshmen, six sophomores, three juniors, and two seniors.
#1 - Jade Owens - So.
River Forest, IL
#11 - Bailey Norby - So.
Forest Lake, MN
#23 - Marissa Janning - Sr.
Watertown, MN
#2 - Myah Mellman - So.
Mason City, IA
#12 - Lauren Works - Jr.
Lincoln, NE
#33 - Kylie Brown - So.
Inver Grove Heights, MN
#3 - MC McGrory - Jr.
Edina, MN
#14 - Sydney Lamberty - So.
Cottage Grove, MN
#40 - Ali Greene - Fr.
Mahtomedi, MN
#4 - Aimee Rischard - So.
Oklahoma City, OK
#20 - Tessa Leytem - Sr.
Dubuque, IA
#45 - Audrey Faber - Fr.
Clive, IA
#5 - Jaylyn Agnew - Fr.
Andover, KS
#21 - Olivia Elger - Fr.
Peoria, IL
#50 - Brianna Rollerson - Jr.
Omaha, NE
Head Coach Jim Flanery:
Y
ou’ll see a few more dramatic rule changes this season in women’s basketball. We’ll play
four 10-minute quarters, instead of 20-minute halves. Additionally, we have eliminated the oneand-one bonus on fouls. All fouls after a team enters the bonus will result in two shots, and we’ll
shoot the bonus on the fifth foul of each quarter. We also have changed a few things centered
around the back court and in regard to the allocation and administration of time-outs. Finally,
you’ll get to hear some live music during all dead balls, not just during the longer time-outs. The
impetus behind the changes is to create a little more free-flowing game. I’m a fan of most of the
changes. While I don’t think it’s going to dramatically affect the game from a spectator or player
point of view, I think it’s enough of a tweak to make our game more appealing.
2015 - 2016 Schedule
The Bluejays kick off the season with their lone exhibition game versus Newman on November
5th. They will face big games at home against Wichita State, Marist, South Dakota State, and
Norhern Iowa before conference play. The Jays’ tough non-conference schedule has them
battling four NCAA Tournament teams and three former Missouri Valley rivals.
Date
Thursday, Nov. 5
Friday, Nov. 13
Sunday, Nov. 15
Tuesday, Nov. 24
Opponent
Newman (Exhibition)
Wichita State (BEDN)
Marist
at Drake
Location
Time (CT)
D.J. Sokol Arena 7:05 p.m.
D.J. Sokol Arena 12:05 p.m.
D.J. Sokol Arena 11:05 a.m.
Des Moines, Iowa 7:05 p.m.
Lone Star Showcase– Cedar Park Center – Austin, Texas
(Blue Bracket: Creighton, East Carolina, Eastern Washington & Northwestern)
Thursday, Nov. 26
Friday, Nov. 27
Saturday, Nov. 28
vs. East Carolina
Austin, Texas
vs. Northwestern
Austin, Texas
vs. Eastern Washington Austin, Texas
7:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 2
Sunday, Dec. 6
Wednesday, Dec. 9
Saturday, Dec. 12
Sunday, Dec. 20
Tuesday, Dec. 22
Tuesday, Dec. 29
Thursday, Dec. 31
at Kansas
at Nebraska
at Utah
South Dakota State
at Omaha
Northern Iowa
* St. John’s (FS2)
* Seton Hall (BEDN)
Sunday, Jan. 3
Tuesday, Jan. 5
Friday, Jan. 8
Sunday, Jan. 10
Sunday, Jan. 17
Friday, Jan. 22
Sunday, Jan. 24
Friday, Jan. 29
Sunday, Jan. 31
* at Georgetown (BEDN) Washington, D.C. 11:00 a.m.
* at Villanova (BEDN) Villanova, Pa.
6:00 p.m.
* Xavier (FS1)
D.J. Sokol Arena 6:00 p.m.
* Butler (BEDN)
D.J. Sokol Arena 1:05 p.m.
* Providence (BEDN) D.J. Sokol Arena 1:05 p.m.
* at DePaul (BEDN)
Chicago, Ill.
7:00 p.m.
* at Marquette (BEDN) Milwaukee, Wis. 2:00 p.m.
* Villanova (FS1)
D.J. Sokol Arena 7:00 p.m.
* Georgetown (BEDN) D.J. Sokol Arena 1:05 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 5
Sunday, Feb. 7
Sunday, Feb. 14
Friday, Feb. 19
Sunday, Feb. 21
Friday, Feb. 26
Sunday, Feb. 28
* at Butler (BEDN)
Indianapolis, Ind. 10:30 a.m.
* at Xavier (BEDN)
Cincinnati, Ohio 1:00 p.m.
* at Providence (BEDN) Providence, R.I. 12:00 p.m.
* Marquette (BEDN)
D.J. Sokol Arena 7:05 p.m.
* DePaul (FS1)
D.J. Sokol Arena 1:00 p.m.
* at Seton Hall (BEDN) South Orange, N.J. 6:05 p.m.
* at St. John’s (FS2)
Queens, N.Y.
2:00 p.m.
Lawrence, Kan. 7:00 p.m.
Lincoln, Neb.
2:00 p.m.
Salt Lake City, Utah 8:00 p.m.
D.J. Sokol Arena 7:05 p.m.
Omaha, Neb.
8:00 p.m.
D.J. Sokol Arena 6:05 p.m.
D.J. Sokol Arena 6:00 p.m.
D.J. Sokol Arena 1:05 p.m.
BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Championship – Chicago, Ill. – DePaul University
Saturday, March 5
Sunday, March 6
Monday, March 7
Monday, March 7
Tuesday, March 8
Opening Round (BEDN) McGrath-Phillips Arena TBA
Quarterfinals (FS2)
McGrath-Phillips Arena TBA
Semifinal #1 (FS1)
McGrath-Phillips Arena TBA
Semifinal #2 (FS1)
McGrath-Phillips Arena TBA
Championship Game (FS1) McGrath-Phillips Arena TBA
* Denotes BIG EAST regular season game
FS1 = FOX Sports 1
FS2 = FOX Sports 2
BEDN = BIG EAST Digitial Network
Game dates and times are subject to change. All times listed are Central Time. Home games listed in BLUE.
Bluejays in the Press
Bluejays begin workouts with a full, healthy roster
Jim Flanery thought he might be in the wrong huddle when he gathered his Creighton women’s basketball
team around him after the Bluejays’ first workout.
First, there were 15 players surrounding him. Second, all 15 were healthy.
“That’s unheard of around here, and almost scary,” said Flanery, chuckling. “It seems like I’m always telling a
kid in the preseason, ‘Well, at least it’s not November. Let’s get it taken care of now.’
“We don’t have anyone sick, we don’t have anyone hobbled.”
Maybe the basketball gods are repaying Flanery for the run of injuries that has bitten the Bluejays in recent
seasons.
The fact that Flanery will be working with a squad of 15 players also is out of the norm. In his first 13 seasons
as the Bluejays’ coach, Flanery rarely has used all the 15 scholarships the NCAA allows women’s teams to
offer.
Fourteen of this season’s players are on scholarship, with the Bluejays adding a walk-on in sophomore guard
Aimee Rischard. She served as a manager at Oklahoma last season before transferring to Creighton.
In high school, Rischard played on the same summer team as Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale’s daughter.
“Sherri told me they considered having Aimee walk on at Oklahoma,” Flanery said. “She went through our
individual workouts and did a really nice job.”
Of Flanery’s 15 players, 10 are either freshmen or sophomores. Four of the five upperclassmen are guards,
providing Creighton with what Flanery considers the strength of the team.
Senior Marissa Janning, a two-time All-Big East selection and the conference’s 2014 player of the year,
headlines the backcourt. Also returning are starters MC McGrory and Sydney Lamberty, as well as top
reserves Lauren Works and Jade Owens.
“Our guard depth is going to be really good,” Flanery said. “We have experience and potentially elite players
that we haven’t had.”
The outlook isn’t as encouraging up front, where the Bluejays must replace their most efficient post player in
Alexis Akin-Otiko, who finished second last season in scoring and rebounding.
Leading rebounder Brianna Rollerson returns, but Creighton will be relying on sophomores Bailey Norby and
Kylie Brown or freshmen to pick up the minutes left by Akin-Otiko’s departure.
Sorting out that frontcourt puzzle is one of Creighton’s priorities in preseason practice, which begins Oct. 4.
“We’re not going to ask any of them to be great scorers but they all need to be able to do, as Coach (Dana)
Altman would say, is make the simple plays,” Flanery said. “We need them to block out, talk on defense,
defend the ball screen as we want it defended.”
One newcomer that Flanery has slightly higher expectations for is Audrey Faber, a 6-foot-2 freshman from
West Des Moines Dowling High School. A top-75 recruit, Faber averaged 15.7 points and 5.5 rebounds while
leading Dowling to a state title last season.
“She has a chance to be really good,” Flanery said. “She’s skilled and versatile and long. She doesn’t look
physical but finishes better than you would think.”
Creighton opens its season Nov. 13 with a home game against Wichita State. The Bluejays’ Big East schedule
was announced Thursday, and Creighton will face St. John’s at Sokol Arena in the league opener on Dec. 29.
One thing Flanery likes about the schedule is that there is no early December conference game as there was a
year ago.
Creighton’s Big East opener last season came against Seton Hall on Dec. 3. In order to squeeze in the doubleround-robin schedule, the league is having teams open with six games in a 13-day period in late December
and early January.
Player Profile: MC McGrory
This month we will take a look at junior captain, Mary Claire “MC” McGrory. After averaging 8.2 points and
3.8 rebounds per game last year, MC has made herself a vital part of this year’s team. She brings a knowledge
to the game that is hard to teach and has a knack for getting into the paint and making tough finishes. She is
one of only five upperclassmen on this year’s squad. The 5-8 guard from Minnesota is ready to help lead the
Bluejays back to the NCAA Tournament.
Why did you want to become a Bluejay?
I had always heard great things about Creighton, and when I came on campus it just
felt right. Everyone was so welcoming and nice.The coaches really cared about me as
a person and not just a basketball player, and the team was fun! I enjoyed the family
atmosphere.
In three words, describe this year’s team...
...talented, hungry, and hilarious.
In three words, describe you...
...goofy, smart, and trustworthy.
When you are not playing basketball or in class, what are you doing?
Eating, reading a book, doing something active, or hanging out with my teammates
If you could have dinner with three people - dead or alive - who would it be?
Abraham Lincoln, Yogi Berra, and Greg Maddux
If you had a plane ticket to go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Italy - I really want to see the Vatican.
What do you think your biggest strength is as a player?
I have a good midrange game.
What has been your favorite moment as a Bluejay so far?
Either the Kansas game or the entire New York trip last year
Preseason with the Jays...
...Off the Court with the Jays!
Jensen Family Lounge
The newest addition to our state-of-the-art facilities is the Jensen Family Lounge. The lounge, located
inside the Ryan Center in D.J. Sokol Arena, is exclusiviely for women’s basketball and volleyball studentathletes. The lounge is equipped with a full kitchen, living room, theater room, and media/press
conference area. The student-athletes are provided unlimited food, snacks, and drinks in the lounge.
Their 24-hour access to this space makes for a great place to hang out before practices, lifting, or just
relaxing and watching TV. We are extremely grateful for all those who helped make the Jensen Family
Lounge happen and appreciate the community’s continued support of women’s athletics at Creighton!
Creighton vs. Newman
The Creighton women’s basketball team will play its lone exhibition game against the Newman Jets out of
Kansas. The Jets finished their 2014-15 campaign with a 10-16 mark. They are led by redshirt junior Brianna
Caldwell who pops in 10.0 points and grabs 4.7 boards per contest. Newman was recently picked to finish
8th in their preseason poll for the Heartland Conference.
vs.
Contact our Coaching Staff:
We will do our best to keep you updated with our team throughout the upcoming year, but
we want to get to know you as well! Please don’t hesitate to call or email our staff at
anytime if you have questions about our program. We look forward to hearing from you in
the very near future. Until then, think Blue and White!
HEAD COACH JIM FLANERY
Assistant Coach Matt Fritsche
402.718.7868
[email protected]
402.660.5840
Jimfl[email protected]
Director of Basketball Operations
Jenny Vickers
402.660.5839 - [email protected]
Graduate Manager
Carli Tritz
Assistant Coach Linda Sayavongchanh
515.208.8278
[email protected]
Assistant Coach
Chevelle “Chevy” Herring
402.598.2329 - [email protected]
712.389.6467
[email protected]