ISU WBB Meets the Media

The 2006-07 Iowa State women's basketball team held its annual media day Monday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum. Players and coaches talked with the press and posed for photos. Practice kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 14, for the Cyclones and the first exhibition contest will he held against St. Cloud University at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 5, at Hilton.

Read below what seniors Megan Ronhovde and Lyndsey Medders, and head coach Bill Fennelly had to say about the season ahead.

Megan Ronhovde

“Lyndsey, Abby, and I have the mindset that every time we step out here is going to be our last time, so you've got to embrace that, enjoy it, and try and work hard and have fun while we're doing it.”

“Being able to get some postseason experience, considering all the injuries we had last year is definitely a big thing for us. Being able to make a decent run in the WNIT is definitely going to help, considering the lack of experience we had. Obviously losing Brittany (Wilkins) is going to be a big minus for us, but we have got a lot of people coming back, and we've got a great freshman class coming in, and it's going to be a great year.”

“My free throw percentage definitely has to improve, that's what I've been trying to work on, being more consistent with my 3-point shooting. I've been working with the assistants in the postseason last year and the preseason this year trying to get more consistent. And I don't think I'm going to have to play point guard this year. So I don't think that ball handling is going to be that much of an issue this season, which is going to be a big plus this year, because that's definitely something we lacked last year with Lyndsey's injury late in the season.”

“We've got a great, great group coming in, just like we did last year. We have four true freshmen coming in with Anna Florzak, Alison Lacey, Shellie Mosman, Genesis Lightbourne), and Brittany Lange coming in as a transfer for us. Anna is going to really help us from the point guard spot, being able to back Lyndsey up. Shellie and Anna are both great shooters from the outside. Alison's a great shooter as well, and Toccara is really going to help us at the 4 spot, considering we have an excess amount of guards and not as many posts, they're all fabulous additions to the team.”

“As a freshman you're just sucked into trying to sink all this in, get the whole campus life figured out, but they're great at coming to us with questions or anything with that respect. They're great at listening to what we have to say, and trying to get the philosophy of what we're trying to get done here. So we're really excited to get the season going.”

Lyndsey Medders

“I'm as excited as I've ever been. Freshman year, sophomore year you get the giddiness, junior year you understand, and now enjoying every day and appreciating every moment you have here in Ames, Iowa. It's perfect.”

“We've got targets on our backs being ranked 23^rd in the country, obviously in one newspaper of course. You know teams are going to be gunning for us, like we've gunned for teams in the past, but you hope with the people we have and the freshman doing a really good job of maturing quickly as they figure out that level of consistency in practice and in games you hope we're successful from there.”

“They're going to bring all kinds of stuff, they just have that young, energetic stuff, you know every once in a while you get tired. I know it sounds pathetic but as a 21-year old, my body feels like it wants to break down. Being loose and energetic makes you appreciate being here, they're fun to be here.”

“It seems like yesterday (since she was a freshman). It's going to be emotional when stuff like this is over and you realize it's done. It's gone by fast, but I've had nothing but great memories.”

“It's amazing, I love Hilton. I love every single moment I've spent here. We really appreciate all the things the fans have done and all the things Jaime Pollard has done. We are excited to get things going in here and get this place packed.”

“I'm 100 percent. I'm as healthy as I'm ever going to be. If I get any less healthy from this point I'm not going to be happy about it, but knock on wood I'm as healthy as I can be.”

Coach Fennelly

“It's a big day for us and hopefully it's a day that she's [Shellie Mosman] about because I don't know if we've recruited a kid that's wanted to come here that bad. She really, really wanted to be a part of what we're doing here and play at Iowa State and go to school at Iowa State, so I hope this is the start of something really fun for her. She's a great person. She had a great fall, she had a little mono when she got here which was a little bit disappointing. It's one of those times when it's neat to see a young person living out their dreams and not many of us get to do that, she certainly one who gets to do that.”

“You've got to be careful. She's a very good player, but it's different from playing at Carroll High School. You've got to be careful that she learns the game, she understands, one thing that she is, is a perfectionist. She's never had a B in her life and she wants to do everything perfect every single day. When I send out e-mails to the players, she's always the first one to respond. I want to make sure that she's here now, enjoy it, and not put too much pressure on her, and I'm hoping that playing with Megan will do that and I hope people don't look at her and say ?well she scored 35 points against Jefferson or against Nevada', it just doesn't work that way and she understands that. My expectations for her is to be exactly the kind of person we thought she was when we recruited her. Be motivated, work hard and try and find a way to impact this team and I'd be shocked if she couldn't find something, whatever it is I think she'll find that spot.”

“[Experience] means a lot, I think Heather Ezell and Nick Wieben had to do things that probably weren't fair. We had to throw them into situations they probably weren't prepared for. You hope Lyndsey Medders stays healthy, and Megan's a senior and I think she's more relaxed than ever to have a good year. The other thing is we have 14 warm bodies which is nice. Last year we would practice with 6 or 7 kids sometimes. I think the new players have added some energy, some talent and some things that we didn't have. I think our returning players are all better. We have a lot of new players, Rachel Pierson is new, she's been in school here but she's new, so I think there are a lot of things to look forward to. We've had as good a fall as we've ever had here. That doesn't mean a whole lot to a lot of people, but they've been very engaged in what we've been doing , they've worked hard at it, they get along great. I think they're all excited and I think the balance we have, experienced teams have been through it, don't get too high or too low, and I think the young ones, you know like Shellie who ever day is like ?this is really cool.' I mean there's a lot of that going on and that's fun to have that balance. The only thing I think we might be a little short in, no pun intended, is we don't have a lot of strength in the post, but I think Nicky and Gillian and Rachel and Toccara can handle that and we'll see how it goes. If not, we've done some 4 guard stuff in the past and our guards are taller, I mean Shellie has good size and Anna has good size, Allison Lacey and Genesis so I'm not overly concerned about that part of it. There isn't anything I'd say right now that we don't have, just to have a chance to be a successful team and that's encouraging because who knows what's going to happen. There's a lot of things you go through, basketball season is a long, long thing, but right now I'm real excited about where we are and everyone's ready to go.

[Having Rachel Pierson back] means a lot in a lot of ways. Rachel is a very outgoing person, energetic kid, she's something we don't have. We don't have a physical back-to-the-basket, low-post player like Rachel. I think the good thing about Rachel is she'll have high expectations for herself even though she hasn't played in 18 months. We have to be careful as coaches and fans not to forget that. Her teammates love playing with her and I think they see what she gives us that no one else can give us, and when you're a basketball player you want to be with someone who makes you look good. She sets a big screen for Lyndsey Medders, she likes that, and she'll get a rebound once in a while when they miss, which they like, and they can throw the ball in the post and she'll make a basket, so it gives us some options. I think it's going to help Nicky Wieben too, Nicky has made more strides from freshman to sophomore than any player I've ever had, and Nicky's not a big, strong, physical kid but with her and Rachel that's a good combination. They play a little different, but it gives us options too, so there's no question having Rachel back is good. And you like seeing a young person who had to go through that kind of year. I mean it's bad enough to have an operation but when you're 18 years old and someone is operating on your back that's not going to be fun. It's nice to see her out here running around and jumping around and that makes me feel good because that was something I was really worried about. I wasn't worried about what kind of basketball player she's going to be. I was worried about how bad it's going to be for the rest of her life. To see her do what she's done this fall, whatever she does on the basketball court I'll be happy with, that was my main concern.

“I'd say, in the fall, Alison Lacey and Toccara (had the biggest impact), are probably the farthest. Alison has been in there a lot, because Heather's been out with her knee, and Toccara will get a lot more time at the 4. But, all of them have shown signs of doing something well. I think right now Alison, she has a little more experience internationally and played a little bit more basketball and is very skilled. She's done a great job so far. Toccara is a junior college kid so she's a little older, comes out of a great program in Kirkwood. So those two have probably separated themselves a little bit, not much but a little.”

Players Mentioned

Heather Ezell

Heather Ezell

Anna Florzak

Alison Lacey

Brittany Lange

Genesis Lightbourne

Lyndsey Medders

Lyndsey Medders

Shellie Mosman

Rachel Pierson

Rachel Pierson

Megan Ronhovde

Megan Ronhovde

Nicky Wieben

Nicky Wieben

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