Lauren Jensen’s evolution has elevated Creighton to new heights

“You dream of stuff like that,” Jensen told The Next while reflecting on the game-winner.

What made the shot even more prolific is that it happened on Jensen’s former home court. Like Clark, Jensen spent her freshman season as a Hawkeye, entering the program in the same freshmen class. One season later, Jensen delivered the dagger against her former team.

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The game wasn’t supposed to be about the underdog Creighton. Yet Jensen’s clutch shot demanded the nation divert its attention from Clark for the moment.

“She hit probably the biggest shot in the history of our program against Iowa, which was her old team,” Creighton heach coach Jim Flanery told The Next. “I just think that was such a boost for her. She’d had a good year — that was her first year with us but like, I think the way that game played out … she played really well down the stretch, and hit a monster three.

“I think it was a real, real springboard into becoming an elite player. … she might have gotten there anyway, but I think when you do it on that stage, in those circumstances, it kind of mentally lifts you — probably to a place that you maybe didn’t even think you could get.”

‘A good fit from the get-go’

In Fall 2020, college basketball was cautiously emerging from the grips of the pandemic. Jensen entered that unusual environment alongside teammate Caitlin Clark, who was beginning her historic ascent to in the record books. As a freshman, Clark led the nation in assists (214), field goals made (266), points (799), points per game (26.6), 3-pointers attempted (286) and 3-pointers made (116). She did it all in near-empty arenas, a stark contrast of the fandom that was to come.

While Clark was just getting settled in to her new home at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Jensen entered the transfer portal. When she began her search for a new school, one school came quickly to her mind — Creighton.

“I had a good relationship with [Creighton] when I was in high school throughout the recruiting process, and so that was a big pull. I wanted to stay in the Midwest. They’re a good program,” Jensen told The Next. “I knew [Coach Flanery] wasn’t going anywhere. Their style of play and their culture — it just seemed like a good fit from the get-go. It was a place that I had in mind.”

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When she arrived in Omaha, Jensen was an immediate contributor. She started 32 of 33 contests, averaging 12.5 points per game and leading the Bluejays with 82 3-pointers. She was named BIG EAST Co-Most Improved Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team. Her scoring production earned her All-BIG EAST First Team recognition in her second and third seasons in Creighton. As a fifth year college athlete, her game has evolved even further.

“She really is a three-level scorer,” Flanery told The Next. “She’s a good 3-point shooter, good midrange player … she’s got a really good left hand around the rim, good right hand, and she’s gotten better defensively … she’s a lot stronger so she can absorb contact, she can compete defensively, she can rebound better because she’s probably added 10 to 12 pounds of strength.”

Jensen’s ascent has aligned with the rise of the Creighton program. In the summer of 2023, Jensen and teammates Morgan Maly, Molly Mogensen and Emma Ronsiek won a 3×3 national championship in Colorado Springs. The program has reached the NCAA Tournament for the three consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. The Bluejays are on pace to achieve the most wins over a four-year span in program history, with 83 wins since the beginning of the 2021-22 season. Their current best four year stretch is 90 wins from 1990-94.

The numbers tell the story of Jensen’s increased production throughout her college career. It’s her evolution as a leader that is perhaps a bit less obvious and far more subtle. Although she admits she can “get kind of hot sometimes,” she brings a comforting presence to her teammates.

“She’s really in tune with her teammates’ emotions. If I’m sitting here in a timeout, somebody didn’t block out and I’m chewing on them a little bit, or somebody was being sloppy with the ball, and I’m chewing on them a little bit. She’s reaching her hand out and patting that player on her knee,” said Flannery.

“She’s really good about giving touches to not just her new teammates — who are younger players who probably need it — but even her peers, her fellow fifth year players. It doesn’t matter if you’re 22 — if the coach is chewing on you a little, it’s still hard sometimes to take it. And I think she’s just great about about lifting people up around her.”

Jensen’s game-winning moment against her former team in the 2022 NCAA Tournament revealed her big-time playmaking abilities. The many small moments during her time in Omaha — hustling on defense, quietly encouraging teammates — reveal her character.