NEW YORK, NY. (WOWT) – When asked about Creighton women’s basketball at Big East Media Day, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma opened with a light-hearted dig at the senior-heavy Bluejays.
“Isn’t there a limit on how many years you can spend in college?” The Hall of Famer deadpanned. “I think it’s four of his five starters—they’ve been in Omaha longer than the College World Series. Every time I look up those guys are in the starting lineup.”
Lauren Jensen, Morgan Maly, Emma Ronsiek and Molly Mogensen represent the aforementioned starters—all true-seniors. Jensen, Maly and Ronsiek were all named to the Preseason All-Big East Team. The Bluejays were ranked second in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll only behind the Huskies and were No. 22 in the Preseason Top 25.
After having his fun, Auriemma quickly transitioned to high praise for the Bluejays.
“They’re hard as hell to play against. [Jim Flanery] does a phenomenal job. They’re tough kids, they’re well-rounded,” he said. “I think they’re well undervalued in that preseason Top 25 poll. I think they’re a legit like NCAA, go deep in the tournament kind of team if all breaks right. Because when you have experience and you have playmakers and you have shooters and you have the chemistry that they have, I think that they’re terrific. I think they could go certainly as far as they went last time, and who knows with a couple of breaks.”
Auriemma wasn’t the only Big East coach to speak highly of Creighton on Tuesday. Marquette head coach Megan Duffy also pointed to the Bluejays experience.
“The last couple years, what they’ve proven on the national scene, the NCAA Tournament and within our conference has been tremendous,” Duffy said. “They have a group of veterans who have been through the grind of it all. I think the thing about that team is that they’re just so hard to guard. They’re versatile. So much respect for Flan and what he runs. They’re going to be a tough challenge all season long.”
The Bluejays quartet taking home a 3×3 National Championship in Colorado Springs, Colorado this summer left an impression on Seton Hall head coach Tony Bozzella.
“It just showed again how strong the Big East is and how strong Creighton’s team is and how smart their players are,” said Bozzella, who enters his 11th season with the Pirates. “I love playing there. It’s a passionate fanbase, it’s tough—I love that. I love our rivalry. We’ve played a lot of great games—it’s good for women’s basketball. I’m excited to see how well they’ll do. They’re certainly an NCAA [Tournament] team. They showed it two years ago in the Elite Eight. This year they went to the tournament again. They’re poised for a serious in-season run, but I think postseason as well.”
Austin Parkinson, whose Butler Bulldogs are coming off an 11-19 campaign, sees Flanery’s squad as a roadmap to success.
“For our program, where we’re at, he’s a good example of what we hope we can be down the road,” said Parkinson, embarking on his second season at Butler. “Getting quality players like that to stay in the program, get better, improve, and keep a core group that can grow together—that’s what he’s done.”
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