Iowa
Iowa State women’s basketball team beats Oklahoma State without coach Bill Fennelly
AMES – The Iowa State ladies’s basketball staff has confronted its share of early-season struggles. The Cyclones have battled accidents to key contributors and struggled to search out their footing in a season of large expectations.
This week, Iowa State confronted one other surprising problem.
The 17th-ranked Cyclones, with out coach Invoice Fennelly on the bench, survived a near-upset by Oklahoma State by beating the Cowgirls 69-64 at Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday. Iowa State improved to 12-4 on the season and 4-2 in Large 12 Convention play.
But it surely didn’t come simple for the Cyclones, who struggled early on and needed to battle with out Fennelly there to steer them. The longtime Iowa State coach missed his first recreation since 2020 after attending the funeral of his mom, Carol Fennelly, who died Sunday.
Jodi Steyer, Iowa State’s affiliate head coach and a longtime Fennelly assistant (first at Toledo and now at Iowa State), crammed in. Steyer additionally subbed for Fennelly in 2020 when the coach was in quarantine throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
She confronted a tall activity Wednesday with Oklahoma State, off to a pleasant begin to the season, giving Iowa State issues all evening. The sport included six lead adjustments, six ties and a tie scored as late because the fourth quarter. However Iowa State ultimately pulled away.
Cyclones guard Lexi Donarski knocked down a jumper with 9 minutes and 9 seconds remaining to offer Iowa State a 54-52 lead. Nyamer Diew adopted with a 3-pointer to increase Iowa State’s result in 5.
Cyclones level guard Emily Ryan completed with 14 factors and 7 assists.
Iowa State’s put up play offered some big-time minutes
Morgan Kane proved she will deal with a giant bulk of minutes and tasks within the put up final season. Kane, a starter for almost all of the profitable marketing campaign, took a backseat this season when heart/ahead Stephanie Soares was introduced in as a graduate switch from The Grasp’s. However with Soares just lately taking place with a season-ending ACL damage, Kane is getting extra alternatives.
She made essentially the most of her first begin Wednesday. Kane tallied 11 factors and grabbed eight rebounds. She additionally knocked down some enormous free throws late within the fourth quarter.
Nyamer Diew, who additionally has began rather than Soares, got here off the bench and knocked down a key fourth-quarter 3-pointer to offer Iowa State a 57-52 lead. Diew added one other massive 3-pointer within the fourth quarter that pushed Iowa State’s result in 9.
Iowa State’s 3-point capturing reveals some indicators of life
The largest shock this season could also be Iowa State’s struggles from past the arc. Iowa State’s offense has revolved across the 3-pointer over time. It has taken on newfound significance this season after put up participant Stephanie Soares suffered a season-ending damage. The Cyclones have struggled to shoot it for a lot of the season, however the hope is that with Soares out and Iowa State returning to its offensive type from a season in the past, it will ultimately get going.
Wednesday was a step in the appropriate path.
Iowa State shot 37% (10-for-27) from 3-point vary and bought some vital long-range photographs late within the recreation to drag away.
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports activities enterprise and options reporter, has been working on the newspaper since 2008. He is the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Yr. Attain him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Observe him on Twitter @TommyBirch.