Cyclones Face Colorado in Big 12 Tournament Opener

Cyclones Face Colorado in Big 12 Tournament Opener

03.04.2005 | Women's Basketball

By: cyclones.com

On the Air
Iowa State's Big 12 Conference Tournament games will be broadcast live on the Cyclone Radio Network and 1430 KASI in Ames ... every game is broadcast live and free of charge on the internet (www.cyclones.com).

On the Tube
Tuesday's Big 12 Tournament games are NOT televised ... the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game will be televised on select Fox Sports Net stations nationwide.

All-Conference Honors for O'Neil and Robinette
Senior guard Anne O'Neil has earned 2005 first-team all-Big 12 Conference honors from the league's coaches ... it is her second consecutive season of recognition after being placed on the honorable mention list last year ... this is the 14th time a Cyclone earned first-team all-league honors, the eighth during head coach Bill Fennelly's 10 seasons ... senior forward Katie Robinette was voted to the all-Big 12 second team ... Iowa State has placed a Cyclone on an all-conference team 52 times since 1980, including 28 times during the Fennelly era.

Quickly
Iowa State earned the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, its highest since winning the 2001 championship as the No. 3 seed ... the Cyclones are 13-6 in Big 12 Tournament games and 12-4 in Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium ... ISU owns two Big 12 Tournament titles (2000, 2001) and has played in three title games ... the Cyclones face Colorado and retiring head coach Ceal Barry in the opening round ... Barry owns a 26-18 record against ISU in her 22 seasons at CU ... Colorado and Iowa State split a pair of previous Big 12 Tournament matchups, but CU owns a 5-2 all-time record against the Cyclones in league tournament contests ... ISU earned a regular-season sweep of the Buffaloes this year for the first time since 2000 ... Iowa State compiled an 8-2 record against Big 12 North division teams this season and finished 4-2 against the South ... since the inaugural season of the Big 12 Conference (1996-97), ISU is 64-34 vs. the North and 42-22 vs. the South overall ... the Cyclones matched the best regular-season finish in school history (22-5) recorded by the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 squads.

About the Cyclones (22-5, 12-4)
Iowa State brings a three-game win streak to Kansas City ... ISU topped Texas A&M and Kansas in its final two games to remain perfect (15-0) at home for the season ... four Cyclones are averaging double-figure scoring, while a fifth checks in at 9.6 ppg ... all five regular starters are shooting better than 40 percent from the floor ... Katie Robinette posted back-to-back double-double performances, giving her four in the last five games and five in the last seven contests ... Robinette has scored in double figures in 18 consecutive games, while missing double-digit scoring just three times this season ... Anne O'Neil has been held under 10 points just three times, including two conference games ... Mary Fox, who went scoreless for the second time this season at Texas Tech, has averaged 16.8 points on 59 percent shooting while sinking and average of 3.7 treys in the ensuing six games ... despite averaging just 4.7 points over the last three games, Megan Ronhovde is averaging 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals while providing solid defense ... Lyndsey Medders went scoreless for the first time this year in the regular-season finale against Kansas, but averaged 17 points in the previous three games while dishing 7.3 apg.

About the Buffaloes (9-18, 2-14)
Colorado picked up its second conference win in head coach Ceal Barry's final game in Boulder ... the Buffaloes topped Nebraska 78-76 to give Barry the 510th victory of her 26-year head coaching career ... CU shot 53.1 percent from the floor for a 44-32 halftime advantage that Nebraska could not overcome ... despite committing 26 turnovers, the Buffs held off a late Husker rally with 49.1 percent shooting overall and a 41-34 rebounding advantage ... Kara Richards led CU with 19 points, while Veronica Johns-Richardson and Jasmina Ilic added 18 and 16 points, respectively.

The Cyclone - Buffalo Series
Colorado owns a 35-18 advantage in the series that dates back to 1977 ... ISU snapped a string of four consecutive series wins, sweeping the Buffs this season for the first time since 2000 ... CU is 5-2 when facing the Cyclones in a conference tournament game ... the squads have faced each other twice in the Big 12 Tournament ... Colorado earned a second-round win (56-39) in 1997, while Iowa State eliminated the Buffs (58-56) in the second round of the 2002 bracket ... ISU head coach Bill Fennelly is 11-11 against Colorado ... CU head coach Ceal Barry is 31-18 all-time vs. Iowa State, including a 26-18 mark during her 22 seasons at Colorado.

The Difference Between Winning and Losing
Iowa State averaged 80.0 points on 47.8 percent shooting in its 22 wins, including 40.8 percent 3-point accuracy ... in the Cyclones' five losses, ISU averaged 66.0 points on 39.5 percent shooting and 31.6 percent 3-point accuracy .... Iowa State pulls down 42.7 boards in wins and 31.8 rebounds in losses ... four Cyclones average double-figure scoring in wins ... three Cyclones average double digits in losses ... opponents have shot 48.4 percent in their five wins (40.2 from behind the arc), while ISU holds its foes to 34.3 percent accuracy in Cyclone victories (26.4 percent from 3-point range).

Tracking the Trends
After going scoreless at Texas Tech Feb. 8, Mary Fox has averaged 16.8 points, shooting 53.7 percent from behind the arc (22-of-41) and 59 percent overall in the last six games ... Iowa State has recorded a double-digit margin of victory in all but five wins ... nine Cyclone opponents have shot over 40 percent from the floor this season ... the Cyclones have shot under 40 percent four times this season, all in Big 12 games (Jan. 15 vs. MU, Jan. 25 at KSU, Feb. 8 at TTU, Feb. 12 at NU) ... 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 12 games, including five league contests ... Bill Fennelly has used four different starting lineups this season after changing it up 14 times last season.

Spotlight Performances
Katie Robinette was the only Cyclone to record double-figure scoring at Kansas State, the only time ISU has had just one player score in double digits this season ... 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, while Mary Fox drained 6-of-6 treys against Oklahoma State ... those were the best performances since Mary Cofield sank 6-of-6 against Temple in the 2002 NCAA Tournament ... 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 ... Lyndsey Medders recorded a career-best 13 assists twice this season, ranking third on the ISU single-game performance list ... 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 pts, 9 rebs, 10 asts; Tracy Eckert vs. Iowa, Dec. 15, 1979, 13 pts, 8 rebs, 12 asts).

Season Milestones
The Cyclones posted just the third undefeated home campaign in school history with a 15-0 mark in Hilton Coliseum this season ... Iowa State's 12 conference victories are the most since the 2000-01 team went 12-4 in the league ... ISU's 22 wins is the most since the 2001-02 squad finished the season 24-9 ... this is the Cyclones' sixth 20-win season during the Bill Fennelly era and the seventh in school history ... this is the 12th 20-win season of Fennelly's career ... ISU managed its first season sweep of Colorado since 2000 and swept Missouri for the first time 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 game ... this is their first 20-win season ... 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 156 career 3-pointers rank sixth in the school record books, while her 415 attempts rank sixth all-time ... Fox is tied for seventh with 116 career games played, while Lisa Kriener is tied for 10th on the list with 114 games played ... Megan Ronhovde ranks ninth with 122 career 3-pointers and ninth with 331 3-point attempts ... Anne O'Neil become the 16th Cyclone to break the 1,000-point plateau Feb. 2 against Colorado and ranks 12th with 1,137 points ... O'Neil is ISU's career record holder in free throw percentage, ranks fifth in career free throws made (311) and eighth in attempts (375) ... Katie Robinette is sixth with 66 career blocks, while Brittany Wilkins is tied at eighth with 57 ... Lyndsey Medders is fourth on the single-season assists list with 166 ... Robinette's 38 blocks this year rank third all-time.

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 54-of-106 from outside for 50.9 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 84.3 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 13 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 301 consecutive games since 1995, ranking fourth nationally behind Cleveland State, Drake and Miami (Ohio).

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 20 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 Kansas, 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 finished 15-0 in Hilton Coliseum this season ... the 1998-99 and 2000-01 squads are the only other teams to go undefeated at home, with 15-0 and 16-0 records, respectively ... the Cyclones have been phenomenal at home during Fennelly's tenure, compiling a 128-22 record (.853) 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.

Smarty Pants
Anne O'Neil became just the fourth Cyclone ever to earn national academic All-America honors, earning 2005 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America first-team recognition ... O'Neil and former Cyclone Jayme Olson, a two-time honoree, are ISU's only first-team selections ... Cyclones Angie Welle and Lindsey Wilson earned second- and third-team recognition, respectively ...O'Neil owns a 3.86 grade point average in communication studies with a sociology minor ... the senior guard also earned 2005 District VII Academic All-America first-team honors, her second consecutive season to earn the award ... it marked the 13th time an Iowa State women's basketball player earned the honor and the 10th time a Cyclone has made the list during head coach Bill Fennelly's tenure ... Iowa State had seven women's basketball players named to the 2005 Big 12 women's basketball academic all-conference team, all of them as first-team selections ... 75 Cyclone women's basketball student-athletes have earned all-conference recognition since 1985, including 53 selections during head coach Bill Fennelly's 10-year tenure ... this is the third time in the last five years that a school-best seven players were honored ... seniors Lisa Kriener, Anne O'Neil and Tracy Paustian earned first-team honors for the third-straight year ... junior Brittany Wilkins, a second-team pick last season, is also a three-time honoree ... senior Mary Fox joined sophomores Lyndsey Medders and Megan Ronhovde as first-time selections.

O'Neil Named Big 12 Player of the Week
Anne O'Neil was named Big 12 Conference Player of the Week Dec. 20 ... it was her second Big 12 award after claiming Rookie of the Week honors in 2002-03 ... she turned in back-to-back career scoring performances while leading ISU to the Duel in the Desert championship ... she was named tournament MVP after averaging 28.5 points and 9.5 rebounds ... she shot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the field, including 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from the 3-point line, and 87.5 percent (21-of-24) from the charity stripe ... she poured in a career-best 28 points against Eastern Kentucky while adding 10 rebounds ... O'Neil drained 3-of-5 treys and sank 9-of-16 from the floor overall ... she sank a career-high 14-of-16 free throws en route to a new career mark of 29 points in the championship game, helping ISU to an 86-78 overtime win over host UNLV ... O'Neil also collected nine rebounds, five assists and four steals against the Lady Rebels.

Head Coach Bill Fennelly
Head coach Bill Fennelly took over a program that had only five winning seasons in its 22-year history ... he has led the Cyclones to six NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 1999 Elite Eight berth and Sweet Sixteen games in 2000 and 2001 ... Iowa State earned its seventh postseason berth with an invitation to the 2004 WNIT ... Fennelly's Cyclones captured the only league championships in program history, winning back-to-back Big 12 Conference Tournament championships in 2000 and 2001 and earning a share of the regular-season crown in 2000 ... Iowa State spent more than four years in The Associated Press national poll, including 34 weeks in the top 10 ... he has posted more conference victories (98) in 10 seasons at ISU than all of the previous seasons combined (43) ... his teams have drawn record-setting crowds, ranking among the top 11 schools nationally in attendance the last seven seasons ... Fennelly's leadership produced ISU's first-ever All-Americans in Stacy Frese and Angie Welle ... his Cyclones have earned all-conference recognition 26 times and academic all-league honors 53 times ... six of his players have been selected in the WNBA professional basketball draft over the last five years ... Fennelly, who guided Toledo to a 166-53 record and six postseason tournament berths in his seven years at UT, was inducted in the Toledo Varsity "T" Hall of Fame in 2003.