The Creighton women's basketball team features plenty of star power in a lineup that includes Megan Neuvirth, Kelsey Woodard, Chevelle Herring and Sam Schuett.

Neuvirth, Woodard and Herring each earned some type of all-conference honor in leading Creighton to 22 wins last season. Neuvirth begins this season as the Missouri Valley's preseason player of the year. Schuett missed last season with an ankle injury but had been a productive contributor in her first two seasons in the program.

Creighton's opponents probably will focus on trying to stop, or contain, the four players. In turn, that could open things up for the Bluejays' supporting cast, specifically center Kellie Nelson and guard Kelsey Crites.

“It's obvious that we have four amazing players,'' Nelson said. “It's going to be really important that the rest of us all know our roles and what we're good at. We need to fill in the gaps.

“We have to do what we can to help make them better players and help make our team better.''

Nelson, a 6-foot-3 junior from Omaha Westside, will start alongside Neuvirth, Woodard, Schuett and Herring. She averaged 5.1 points when she shared a starting spot with Kristina Voss, one of two seniors on last season's team.

Crites, like Neuvirth and Herring, is a fifth-year senior. She played in 22 games as a freshman in 2005-06, then missed most of the 2006-07 season with a knee injury. She came back to play a reserve role as a sophomore, then played in all but one game last season, starting 11 of the last 12.

Crites, from Clinton, Iowa, averaged 7.4 rebounds in Creighton's final 12 games and 6.2 points in its final 18. She'll open this season as the Bluejays' first reserve off the bench, a player that coach Jim Flanery won't hesitate to get into games.

“She's so strong that she can put the ball on the floor and make plays for our other players,'' Flanery said. “And she's going to have opportunities, especially against certain lineups, that we're going to look for her to score.''

Crites averaged 4.6 points per game but struggled to make shots last season. She made 34.1 percent of her attempts from the field but was 2 of 11 (18.2 percent) from beyond the arc.

“I lost confidence in my shot last year,'' Crites said. “Sometimes that happens because of a technique thing but it can also happen when a player loses confidence in herself. That's what happened to me. When you get in-season, it's not an easy fix.

“I was already in-season when it happened, so I decided to do the things I could to help the team. I tried to do the little things that I could. And I'm an emotional player, so I tried to bring energy. That, and leadership, is my role.''

Crites worked on her shot over the offseason and feels she is capable of producing this season. Nelson tried to improve her skills of finishing around the basket. Nelson is Creighton's tallest player and its primary inside scoring threat.

“She has the ability to be a pretty good back-to-the-basket scorer for us,'' Flanery said.

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com