Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus UCF on January 31, 2026 , Win , 65, to, 52
Final
Women's Basketball
65
UCF
52
Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclone WBB Signs Three for 2008-09
11.14.2007 | Women's Basketball
AMES, Iowa ? The Iowa State women's basketball team will add the services of three outstanding newcomers in 2008-09, head coach Bill Fennelly announced Wednesday when Ashley Arlen (Cascade, Iowa), Whitney Williams (Ft. Worth, Texas) and Alexis Yackley (Onida, S.D.) signed national letters of intent. "For us, recruiting is about finding young people who fit the culture of Iowa State and our basketball program,” Fennelly said. “The three players we signed will all bring with them a commitment on and off the court to help continue the tradition of our program.”
Arlen will add to the Cyclones' rich tradition of talent from the state of Iowa. Last season, the 6-1 forward averaged 19.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and two blocks per game, while shooting 56 percent from the field for the Cascade Cougars. She was named to the Iowa Newspaper Association All-State first team and the Des Moines Register All-State second team. Under head coach Mike Sconsa, the Bruins lost in the regional semifinals to Monticello, finishing the 2006-07 campaign with a 22-2 mark, while Arlen was named the Dubuque Telegraph Area Player of the Year. Arlen was also selected to the all-conference first team and all-district teams as a junior. In her career, she has accumulated 1,184 points, 720 rebounds, 97 blocks and 101 steals. She will be featured in the state high school All-Star Volleyball match on Friday. "We felt Ashley was the best player in the 2008 class in Iowa,” Fennelly added. “She is a great athlete who has a very competitive mentality. We will need a great deal of help in the post in the years ahead and this is a great start for us. Being from the hometown of (ISU men's basketball) Coach McDermott is an added bonus.”
Williams, a 5-7 guard, plays for the Texas Home Educators Sports Association (THESA) of Fort Worth, which finished 38-12 last year under head coach Alan Burt. The Riders won the NCHBC Championship in Oklahoma City, Okla., in March 2007, and Williams was named the tournament MVP. She has scored 2,828 points throughout her high school career, averaging 21.3 points per game. Williams hit 206 three-pointers last season at a 48.7 percent clip, and shot 51.1 percent from field. She averaged 24.3 points and grabbed 213 boards on the year as a junior. In the summer of 2007, Williams played AAU basketball for Team Texas, and her brother, Abe, plays college baseball at Paris Junior College.
"Whitney can play either guard spot,” Fennelly said. “She understands the game very well and can impact the game in a variety of ways, whether it is her three-point shooting or her ball handling. Coming from Texas, she has played against great competition her whole life.”
Yackley, also a 5-7 guard, has been the starting point guard for Sully Buttes High School since the eighth grade, and has led the Chargers to the South Dakota State B Basketball Tournament four years in a row, winning the state title in her junior season. She has been named to the state all-tournament team every year since her freshman season, and was named first-team all-state as a sophomore and junior. Yackley scored her 1,000th career point as a sophomore, and is her high school assists and steals leader. Yackley has also qualified for the state cross country meet twice, and is a member of the National Honor Society. She boasts a 4.1 cumulative grade-point average and is a South Dakota Girls State representative.
“Lex is a prototypical point guard,” Fennelly said. “She plays the game the way we like to play it and does a great job of making those around her better. I think she has a great shot to be Miss Basketball in South Dakota (this season).”
Iowa State opened the 2007-08 season last Sunday with a 70-59 win over Pepperdine. The Cyclones are coming off one of their best seasons in school history, with a 26-9 record and a trip to the NCAA second round. Iowa State made it to the title game of the Big 12 Championship, before falling to Oklahoma last March.
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