Cyclones Travel to Lincoln for Saturday Night Date with the Huskers

Cyclones Travel to Lincoln for Saturday Night Date with the Huskers

02.10.2005 | Women's Basketball

By: Iowa State University

No. 14/14 Iowa State at Nebraska
Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005 ? 7:05 p.m. tip
Devaney Center (13,595) ? Lincoln, Neb.

On the Air
Iowa State's game will be broadcast live on the Cyclone Radio Network and 1430 KASI in Ames ... SIRIUS satellite radio will carry the broadcast live on channel 142 ... every game is broadcast live and free of charge on the internet (www.cyclones.com).

Quickly
Iowa State and Nebraska are both licking their wounds after getting drubbed on the road ... ISU had its three-game win streak snapped with an 89-62 loss at No. 13/12 Texas Tech Tuesday ... Nebraska also had a three-game win streak stopped with an 83-53 rout at No. 17/17 Texas Wednesday ... the Cyclones face Nebraska in ISU's second consecutive road game ... three of Iowa State's next four games are on the road ... ISU is 5-3 on the road this season, including a 3-2 mark in Big 12 gyms ... Nebraska is 11-1 at home this season, including a 103-99 triple-overtime win over then-No. 2/3 Baylor Jan. 12 ... ISU's 18 wins match its total from last season (18-2) ... the Cyclones' eight conference wins is the most since finishing the 2001-02 season at 9-7 ... the ISU-NU matchup pits Cyclone senior Katie Robinette against former Husker teammate and roommate Jina Johansen.

About the Cyclones (18-3, 8-2)
For just the third time this season, Iowa State made fewer than 40 percent of its shots, hitting 39.2 percent from the floor in an 89-62 loss at No. 13/12 Texas Tech Tuesday ... the Cyclones got a game-high 23 points from Anne O'Neil, who sank 11-of-12 free throws ... Lisa Kriener came off the bench to score 12 points for ISU, while Katie Robinette logged her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds ... Kriener, who sank a career-best 5-of-5 field goals in the game, drained both 3-point tries ... ISU allowed Texas Tech 56.1 percent shooting accuracy, the Lady Raiders' second-best shooting performance of the season and the only Cyclone opponent to make more than 46 percent of its shots this season ... Tech forced 17 Iowa State turnovers and outrebounded the Cyclones 36-28.

About the Cornhuskers (14-8, 6-4)
Nebraska had its three-game win streak snapped with an 83-53 rout at Texas Wednesday ... the Huskers shot 38 percent from the floor, including a frigid 11.1 percent from behind the arc ... Kiera Hardy had 13 points to lead NU, while Chelsea Aubry added 10 points and eight rebounds ... Nebraska had 25 turnovers and were edged on the boards 37-31 ... the Huskers lead the conference in free throw percentage (74.4), including a league-leading 77.4 percent in Big 12 games ... Hardy ranks first in scoring with 21.7 points per game in conference play.

The Cyclone - Cornhusker Series
This is the 62nd game in the series that dates back to 1978 ... Nebraska holds a narrow 33-28 edge overall, including a 16-10 record in Lincoln ... Iowa State owns a three-game win streak, dating back to last season's loss in Lincoln (62-57), snapping an ISU 10-game series win streak ... the Cyclones earned a 74-54 win in the first meeting of the season (Jan. 22) ... ISU head coach Bill Fennelly is 17-5 against the Cornhuskers ... NU head coach Connie Yori is 3-13 against the Cyclones, including a 2-8 record at Creighton.

The Difference Between Winning and Losing
Iowa State averaged 81.3 points on 47.7 percent shooting in its 18 wins, including 41.1 percent 3-point accuracy ... in the Cyclones' three losses, ISU averaged 64.7 points on 36.8 percent shooting and 28.8 percent 3-point accuracy .... Iowa State pulls down 43.6 boards in wins and 36.0 rebounds in losses.

Tracking the Trends
Anne O'Neil has converted on 21-of-23 free throws in the last two games ... O'Neil is the first true guard to lead ISU in rebounding since Jolene Leseman averaged 7.6 rpg in 1980-81 ... Iowa State has recorded a double-digit margin of victory in all but three wins ... ISU has been outrebounded six times, four times in Big 12 games ... only five Cyclone opponents have shot over 40 percent from the floor this season ... the Cyclones have shot under 40 percent three times this season, all in Big 12 games (Jan. 15 vs. MU, Jan. 25 at KSU, Feb. 8 at TTU) ... Iowa State's top two shooting performances have come against league foes in Hilton Coliseum (Kansas State, 64.6 percent; Colorado, 57.4 percent) ... ISU has recorded fewer turnovers than its opponent in 10 games, including three league contests ... Bill Fennelly has used the same starters since Dec. 5 (notable due to the fact that he used 14 different lineups last season).

Spotlight Performances
Katie Robinette was the only Cyclone to record double-figure scoring at Kansas State, the only time this season ISU has had only one player score in double digits ... Lisa Kriener scored a season-high 14 points against Colorado after averaging 4.6 points in the previous five games ... Megan Ronhovde hit 6-of-6 3-pointers against Colorado, the best performance since Stacy Frese drained an NCAA-record 8-of-8 treys against Nebraska Jan. 28, 1999 ... Ronhovde sank 3-of-3 treys against Texas and hit her first two 3-point tries at Texas Tech for a streak of 11 consecutive 3-pointers made over three games ... Anne O'Neil has just missed a triple-double twice this season ... O'Neil had 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds against Colorado and recorded 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in just 24 minutes against IPFW ... only one Cyclone has ever posted a triple-double (Jane Lobenstein vs. KU, Feb. 5, 1986, 18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists), while two others have been close (Megan Taylor vs. Western Michigan, Dec. 20, 1999, 13 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists; Tracy Eckert vs. Iowa, Dec. 15, 1979, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists).

Season Milestones
ISU managed its first season sweep of Colorado since 2002 ... Iowa State matched the best start in school history with a 15-1 overall mark and a 5-0 Big 12 slate ... ISU owned a 12-game win streak that ranked second nationally before losing at KSU Jan. 25 ... Kansas State had 60 rebounds (26 offensive) in its win over Iowa State Jan. 25, the most since Oregon set an ISU opponent record with 70 rebounds on Jan. 7, 1982 ... ISU held Kansas to its second lowest point total in school history with a 70-37 win Jan. 12 ... with their 78-59 win over Kansas State Jan. 5, the Cyclones scored the most points in regulation against the Wildcats since KSU defeated Georgia State (93-79) Dec. 29, 2001 ... Iowa State had a record-setting night against IPFW, breaking the school mark for assists (35) and setting new Hilton Coliseum records for scoring (113) and win margin (+68) ... head coach Bill Fennelly earned his 200th Cyclone victory with an 86-78 overtime win at UNLV Dec. 19 ... ISU, which hadn't won a road game after trailing at the half since 1999, has won two (at UNI, at UNLV) this season ... Iowa State's all-time women's basketball record finally rose above the .500 mark, the first time since 1979-80.

Put Yourself in Their Shoes
Senior transfers Katie Robinette (2001 Miss Nebraska Basketball) and Anne O'Neil (2000 Miss Iowa Basketball) have never played in an NCAA Tournament ... seniors Lisa Kriener, Tracy Paustian and Mary Fox advanced to the NCAA second round, recording a 24-9 record their freshman season, while Brittany Wilkins and O'Neil were sidelined as redshirts ... this group of Cyclones recorded its first win against Texas and its first victory in Boulder.

Put It In The Books
Mary Fox's 134 career 3-pointers rank sixth in the school record books, while her 374 attempts rank sixth all-time ... Megan Ronhovde ranks ninth with 115 career 3-pointers and ninth with 304 3-point attempts ... Anne O'Neil become the 16th Cyclone to break the 1,000-point plateau Feb. 2 against Colorado and ranks 15th with 1,058 points ... O'Neil is ISU's career record holder in free throw percentage, ranks eighth in career free throws made (288) and 10th in attempts (349) ... Katie Robinette is tied for sixth with 61 career blocks, while Brittany Wilkins is tied at eighth with 57.

Where They Rank
In the Big 12 Conference's overall statistics, Iowa State ranks first in scoring offense (79.8); field goal percentage (46.4); 3-point field goal percentage defense (26.2) and 3-pointers made (9.20) ... individually, Anne O'Neil leads the league in 3-point percentage (52.4) ... in Big 12 games only, ISU is tops in scoring (73.8); field goal percentage (45.6); 3-point percentage (39.8); field goal percentage defense (35.1); 3-pointers made (9.56) and defensive rebounds (30.11).

Change is Good
Senior guard Anne O'Neil made adjustments to her 3-point shot over the summer, adopting a quicker release and more conventional form ... she is shooting better from behind the arc than from the floor overall ... she has drained 46-of-87 from outside for 52.9 percent accuracy this season ... O'Neil hit 33.5 percent in her previous three seasons with her - uh, well - let's just call it "unorthodox" 3-point shooting form.

Trey Bien
Four Cyclones (Fox, Medders, O'Neil, Ronhovde) combine to shoot 83.3 percent of ISU's 3-point tries, while only three players on the roster have not attempted one this season ... the Cyclones have made 10 or more treys in 10 games this season, with a season-high 15 vs. Colorado Feb. 2 ... the school record is 18 vs. Missouri on Feb. 19, 2000 ... Iowa State has made at least one 3-pointer in 294 consecutive games since 1995.

30 Seconds of Defense
Iowa State has showcased an aggressive defense this year ... Bill Fennelly, a master of the zone defense, has added a player-to-player scheme to his arsenal ... the Cyclones have bought into the system, forcing 17 shot-clock violations this season ... ISU forced three shot-clock violations in the season opener vs. Cleveland State and on the road at Kansas, four against Northern Colorado and two against both IPFW and Drake.

They're Back
Iowa State returned to both national polls this season at No. 24 on Jan. 10 for the first time since early 2002 ... ISU last appeared in the AP poll at No. 20 on Nov. 25, 2002 ... the Cyclones were ranked at No. 24 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll on Dec. 2, 2002, before falling off of the national lists.

Home Sweet Hilton
Iowa State is 12-0 at home this season ... the Cyclones have been phenomenal at home during Fennelly's tenure, compiling a 125-22 record (.850) in Hilton Coliseum, including a 54-3 mark against regular-season nonconference opponents ... ISU recorded its first women's basketball sellout last season in the WNIT-NIT double-header March 25 ... the capacity crowd watched the Cyclones advance to the WNIT Final Four with a 66-58 win over Saint Joseph's ... Fennelly's 1998-99 and 2000-01 squads posted ISU's only undefeated home campaigns, going 15-0 and 16-0, respectively.