On Sunday, Oklahoma will present the Creighton women’s basketball team with a different challenge than it did a year ago.

The Sooner team that will visit D.J. Sokol Arena isn’t as physically imposing as the club that featured sisters Courtney and Ashley Paris. That team won 32 games last season and finished its season in the women’s Final Four, losing to Louisville by two points in the national semifinals.

But an 8-2 start to this season against a demanding schedule indicates that No. 15 Oklahoma will be as much of a handful for the Bluejays as the Sooners were when they scored a 69-49 win last December.

“They might not be as much of a nightmare physically to match up with but they’re still a very good team,’’ Creighton coach Jim Flanery said. “They’re faster and they’re able to pressure you defensively a little bit more because they’re not as big.

“They have a terrific point guard who probably fits this team a little better because she’s a great push person with a little more of an up-and-down team around her.’’

Oklahoma guard Danielle Robinson, a national player of the year candidate and a preseason All-American, is averaging 16.1 points and 5.4 assists for the Sooners. Four other players are averaging 10 points or more a game, although sharpshooting guard Whitney Hand’s season has been ended by a knee injury after she had averaged 13.4 points in her first five games.

The Sooners are the third straight ranked Big 12 Conference team to face the Bluejays. Creighton lost the first two meetings, allowing unbeaten Nebraska to pull away in the final five minutes in a 69-59 loss and then dropping a 77-56 decision a week ago at Kansas.

The two losses leave Creighton 5-3 heading into today’s 2 p.m. game. The Bluejays had regarded this three-game stretch as critical in enhancing their chances of finding an avenue to the NCAA tournament should they not claim the Missouri Valley’s automatic berth.

“We realize the importance of all of our games but I think we see now how we really have to focus to try to pull this win out,’’ Creighton guard Chevelle Herring said. “It could do a lot for our confidence and get us ready for our conference season.’’

A year ago, Herring turned in a series of dazzling performances in Creighton’s five regular-season games against Big 12 teams. Although the Bluejays lost all five, Herring averaged 22.6 points while shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range. She established a career high with 31 points against Kansas, and she scored 16 points in the loss to the Sooners.

Herring comes into Saturday’s game battling a shooting slump that started at the tail end of last season. In Creighton’s final eight games last season, Herring shot 26.6 percent from the field (33 of 124) and 14.3 percent (6 of 42) from 3-point range.

The slump has carried over into this season as she’s shooting 27.9 percent from the field in the first eight games. In the Bluejays’ three losses, the senior from Bellevue East is 4 of 23 (17.4 percent) from the field and has averaged almost as many turnovers (3.3) as assists (4.0).

Asked where her confidence level is at this point in the season, Herring replied, “It’s not where it should be. It’s something I need to figure out for myself, and once I get a couple of shots to fall, I’ll be fine.

“I’m not worried about it because I know what I need to do. I think I just have to let some of the pressure go and take things a little slower. And right now, I’m trying to focus on doing other things well. I need to take care of the ball and do other things to compensate for not shooting it well.’’

One area that Flanery would like to see improvement on from all of his players is ball security. The Bluejays had 21 turnovers in each of their past two losses and are averaging 16.4 per game.

Last season, Creighton averaged 13.5 turnovers per game to finish eighth nationally. The Bluejays’ style of play — they slowed the offense down after losing two starters early in the season — contributed to their low number of turnovers last season, Flanery said.

Taking care of the basketball will be vital today, he said.

“Oklahoma will make you pay if you don’t,’’ he said. “They do a good job of beating teams down the floor, and a lot of times, easy baskets are a result of your own turnovers. We have to cut back on our turnovers and not give up anything in transition.

“Our increase in turnovers is partly due to our (faster) playing style but we have a lot of veteran players. It’s not our younger players that are turning the ball over more than they should. Our veteran players need to cut down on their turnovers.’’

• Notes: Oklahoma leads the series 2-0 . . . Creighton is 4-0 at home this season and has won 15 of its last 16 home contests . . . The Sooners are the third program this decade to visit Omaha the season after appearing in the Final Four. The Bluejays defeated Missouri State in 2002, the season following the Lady Bears’ 2001 appearance, and lost to Minnesota in 2004.

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

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