Creighton and UNO get a chance tonight to break in the basketball court at the Bluejays' new Sokol Arena.

The two women's teams meet in a 7:05 p.m. exhibition, the first basketball game played at the arena opened in late August. It will mark the first time that Creighton will play a home game on campus since 2001, when the Bluejays squared off against the Lithuanian national team at the Vinardi Athletic Center.

“I don't know if an exhibition is the same as a real game, but I think there is some excitement about playing there for the first time,'' Creighton coach Jim Flanery said. “And I like that the game will be against UNO. I think that will be more exciting than if it were another Division II team.''

UNO coach Patty Patton Shearer's excitement about playing in the new building is tied to its purpose. Creighton built the facility primarily to give its women's basketball and volleyball teams a campus home.

“What a wonderful facility, and it speaks well in creating a successful environment for women's sports,'' she said. “When you're involved in women's sports, you're excited when you know that facility got built for that purpose. Creighton has made a wonderful investment.''

Creighton has played 25 regular-season games against the University of Nebraska at Omaha, but the teams have not met in a game that counted since the 1986-87 season. They have played exhibitions in 2000, 2002 and 2008.

The Bluejays hope to build on what they showed in Sunday's closed scrimmage at Iowa. The Hawkeyes are picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten, and Flanery said his team won by six points.

“Thursday is going to be another chance for our younger and inexperienced players to get some jitters out,'' Flanery said. “I thought the scrimmage against Iowa went well. Defensively, we were pretty average and made more mistakes than I think a team with our experience level should.

“But we're definitely better on offense. Our returners have gotten better, getting Sam (Schuett) back makes a big difference and our freshmen will give us a chance to spread the floor. We weren't very well organized, but we were still pretty successful against them from an offensive standpoint.''

Creighton's offensive potential concerns Patton Shearer. The Bluejays return proven scorers in Megan Neuvirth, Chevelle Herring and Kelsey Woodard. Schuett's return from an ankle injury that sidelined her all of last season adds to Creighton's firepower.

“It's a cliché, but I just want us to compete,'' Patton Shearer said. “For us, that means having some defensive resiliency. When you go into a game knowing that they have a great player like a Neuvirth or a Schuett or a Herring or a Woodard, you go into a game, as a coach, hoping that you can take something away from them.

“You hope you can do something that forces them to make some adjustments once they step on the floor.''

UNO, which went 15-12 last season, returns two starters: guard Alyssa Green, who needs three points to hit the 1,000-point mark, and forward Ashley Nelson. Green averaged 11.1 points and also led the Mavericks in assists and steals.

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com