« Women’s Basketball 2013-14

Sarah Nelson

School
Creighton
Position
Forward
Major
Finance/Pre-Health Sciences
PPG
12.9
RPG
7.5
APG
3.6

Classroom

Sarah enters her senior season with a 3.77 cumulative GPA.  She was selected to the 2012-13 DI-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete team, a two-time MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team selection (2011-12 & 2012-13) and was chosen as a member of the 2011-12 National Academic All-Jesuit Team. As consistent in the classroom as she has been on the court, Nelson posted her two highest semester GPA marks over as a junior (3.875 in the Fall of 2012; 3.88 in the Spring of 2013).  Nelson is on pace to graduate in the spring of 2014.

Character

An undersized post player, Nelson has cherished any challenge presented to her.  Frequently tasked with defending the opponent’s best post player, Nelson has tirelessly worked to become one of the best defenders in the country.  She has shown the ability to adjust her game to fit the needs of her team.  With just 35 assists as a freshman, Nelson raised that figure to 81 as a sophomore and 115 last season.  After hitting 12 three-pointers in 2010-11, she also extended her shooting range to drain 34 last season.  Displaying her range of skills in 2012-13, Nelson led Creighton in scoring 10 times, rebounding 24 times, assists 10 times, steals in 11 contests and blocks in 20 games.

Community

Consistently one of the leaders for the Bluejays, Sarah participated in over 80 hours of community service.  She has worked with elementary school children on basketball skills, the Friends of Jaclyn program, serving meals to the homeless, working with the Abide Network to perform debris cleanup as well as building lasting relationship with young children as a tutor and pen pal.

Competition

Sarah sets herself apart from post players with her ability to pass, shoot from three-point range and defend.  As a junior she led the NCAA in assists by a post with 115, giving her 234 in three seasons.  Nelson was named to the All-MVC First Team as well as the All-MVC Defensive Team following the 2012-13 season.  As a sophomore she earned All-MVC Honorable Mention.  Sarah has tallied 1,017 points, 646 rebounds and 119 blocks in three seasons for the Bluejays.  The
6’0’’ senior has also knocked down 59 three-pointers (59-of-180).  In her career she is shooting just under 50% (389-of-793; .491) led by 50.3% from the field last season (147-of-293).