Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.The appreciation of coaches and teammates for Creighton's DaNae Moore far exceeds her modest statistics.
The 5-foot-10 senior from Apple Valley, Minn., has never been a big scorer — she has 273 points in 121 career games. There's also nothing eye-popping about her totals in rebounds, assists and steals over the last four seasons.
Yet, ask any Creighton player what Moore means to the team and be prepared for a gush of admiration.
"I have a hard time putting into words what she means to us because there is just so much to say," sophomore guard Carli Tritz said. "To me, she's the most underrated player in our league.
"When I make a good shoot, the fans ooh and aah about it. What they don't realize is that it's probably that screen that DaNae set that allowed me to get open for the shot. It's the little things that she does that add up to big things for the rest of us."
Creighton forward Sarah Nelson calls Moore the "glue that holds our team together."
"People always look at the box scores to see who scored the most points or who got the most rebounds," Nelson said. "But she's the player that does all the little things and always gets them done."
Moore will play her last regular-season home game at D.J. Sokol Arena on Sunday against Indiana State. Moore is Creighton's only senior, and her value to this season's team has increased as she's been the player others look to for direction.
"With such a young team, the tone she sets is super important," Creighton coach Jim Flanery said. "The thing that I value as a coach that most people don't see is that she's a low-mistake player. We don't ask her to make a lot of plays, but she does not turn the ball over."
Earlier this season, Moore posted career scoring performances in back-to-back games against Northern Iowa (11 points) and Bradley (12).
But some of Moore's best games, Flanery said, have come when she's scored a couple of points.
"I just trust her so much defensively," he said.
Tritz said Moore has the respect of all her teammates because of the way she goes about her business. Nelson agrees.
"She's going to be a huge loss next year," she said. "We're going to miss her so much more than people realize."
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