Iowa State University Athletics
ISU Travels to Music City to Take on Michigan
11.21.2007 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2007 ? 4 p.m.
Nashville, Tenn. ? Memorial Gymnasium (14,168)
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield
Talent: Rich Fellingham (pxp); Brent Blum (color)
Television: None
Cyclone Notebook
Iowa State travels to Nashville, Tenn., for the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament this week. The Cyclones face Michigan in the first round of the tourney on Friday at 4 p.m. (CST) and will take on either 19th-ranked Vanderbilt or Belmont on Sunday at either 12 p.m. or 2 p.m.
Iowa State is 2-0 for the 14th time in school history. The Cyclones have started 3-0 just eight times in their 34-year history. ISU has won its last eight straight games at home, dating back to last season.
The Cyclones defeated Pepperdine in the season opener and took down Sacramento State, 99-45, on Sunday behind 17 three-pointers. Heather Ezell led the way with a school-record 10 threes and finished with a career-high 32 points.
Michigan is 3-0 on the season after winning at Miami (Fla.), 65-50, in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Monday. The Woverines went 10-20 last season.
Iowa State has only faced Michigan once before, defeating the Wolverines, 73-58, in Ann Arbor, on Dec. 28, 1985.
Vanderbilt is ranked 25th in the A.P. Poll and 19th in the Coaches Poll this week. The Commodores lost to Indiana State, 77-72, in Terre Haute last week before winning at Clemson, 74-56, on Tuesday night. The Commodores are 3-1 on the season.
Belmont is 2-3 on the campaign and after knocking off Tennessee Tech, 65-59, on the road Tuesday night.
Subscribers to the Clone Zone will have access to 16 more live game web casts of the women's basketball team. To subscribe to the Clone Zone, go to Cyclones.com.
Iowa State returns 10 letterwinners from its 2006-07 NCAA Tournament team. Last year's squad went 26-9 overall and 10-6 to finish tied for fourth in the Big 12 Conference. Iowa State lost four players from last season, including a pair of four-year starters in Lyndsey Medders and Megan Ronhovde.
The Cyclones have added three newcomers to their roster, but only one is a freshman. Kelsey Bolte is Iowa State's only true freshman from Ida Grove, Iowa. Denae Stuckey is a sophomore transfer from Butler Community College and junior Jocelyn Anderson came to ISU from Des Moines Area Community College. All three should see a significant amount of action this season.
Toccara Ross is Iowa State's only senior this season and is in her second season with the Cyclones after transferring last year from Kirkwood Community College. She averaged 10.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in her initial season at ISU.
Junior Nicky Wieben is Iowa State's only returning 2007 Big 12 honoree. The 6-4 post player averaged 12 points and 5.7 rebounds as a sophomore to earn All-Big 12 honorable-mention accolades last season.
Iowa State is coming off one of its best seasons in school history, recording a 26-9 overall record, one win shy of the school record. The Cyclones made the postseason for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons, making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones won nine of their final 11 games of the season and won three games in as many days to make it to the title game of the Big 12 Championship against Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.
Head coach Bill Fennelly is 261-119 at Iowa State and in his 13th season with the Cyclones. He is 427-172 in his head coaching career, which began at Toledo in 1988.
A Closer Look At Michigan
Michigan is 3-0 on the season, for the first time since 2002-03, after going 10-20 a year ago. The Wolverines defeated Miami, 65-50, in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge Monday night on the road.
Michigan is led by first-year head coach Kevin Borseth, who went to Michigan after a very successful stint at UW-Green Bay. Under his direction, the Phoenix went 216-62 and made nine straight postseason appearances.
Michigan has won its first three games by a margin of 12 ppg, defeating Akron, 67-55, at home, and Cincinnati, 55-46, on the road.
Senior center Ta'Shia Walker is Michigan's leading scorer with 12 points per game. Krista Phillips and Janelle Cooper are each averaging 10.7 ppg. Stephany Skrba is the Wolverines' top rebounder with seven boards a game.
The Wolverines are shooting 45.3 percent from the floor and holding opponents to 34.2 percent. UM is being outrebounded by a 2.7 rpg margin and has committed 18 turnovers per game in its first three contests.
The Magic Number is Two
Iowa State needs just two wins to reach 500 wins in program history. The Cyclones have a 498-472 overall record in their 35th season of women's basketball.
Last Time Out
Iowa State defeated Sacramento State, 99-45, Sunday at Hilton Coliseum. Heather Ezell knocked down 10 treys, as the Cyclones racked up 17 three-pointers as a team. All players who entered the game for ISU contributed points and Ezell led the way with a career-high 32 points. Nicky Wieben also pitched in 12 points and Jocelyn Anderson turned in nine points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. The Cyclones shot 52.2 percent from the floor and 47.2 percent from beyond the arc. ISU outrebounded the Hornets, 46-22, and committed just nine turnovers, while forcing 21 by Sacramento State.
Big 12 Player of the Week
Heather Ezell was named the Big 12 Player of the Week Monday after she tied the Big 12 and Iowa State records for three-pointers in a single game last Sunday, knocking down 10 in a 99-45 win over Sacramento State. She broke the Hilton Coliseum record, which was previously eight three-pointers, and she tied Stacy Frese (ISU, 1999) and Laurie Koehn (Kansas State, 2003) in the Big 12 record book.
Down on the Block
Junior Nicky Wieben finished in double figures against Sacramento for the 36th time in her ISU career. She matched her career high with 24 points against Pepperdine. She now has four blocks on the season and 125 blocked shots for her career. She needs 31 blocks to break the Iowa State career record.
On Point
Sophomore Alison Lacey set a new career high with 10 assists against Pepperdine in her official debut as ISU's starting point guard. The last time a Cyclone had 10 assists was when Lyndsey Medders had 10 against Washington in the 2007 NCAA Tournament first round on March 17, 2007.
Coaching Consistency
Iowa State has returned the same coaching staff for the last five seasons. Associate head coach Jack Easley is the newest to the staff and is in his fifth campaign with the Cyclones. Latoja Schaben is not new to the staff, but she was married during the offseason, going from Latoja Harris to Latoja Schaben. She played for Coach Fennelly at Toledo, while fellow assistant Jodi Steyer coached for Fennelly at Toledo from 1989 to 1996 and has been at Iowa State for the past five seasons.
The Votes Are In
The Iowa State women's basketball team is receiving votes in both polls this week. The Cyclones received one vote in the A.P. Poll and 20 votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll to move up eight spots, ranking 32nd.
Coming On Board
Iowa State will add the services of three outstanding newcomers in 2008-09, head coach Bill Fennelly announced when Ashley Arlen (Cascade, Iowa), Whitney Williams (Ft. Worth, Texas) and Alexis Yackley (Onida, S.D.) each signed national letters of intent.
Arlen is a 6-1 forward, who averaged 19.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and two blocks per game, while shooting 56 percent from the field for the Cascade Bruins last season.
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. She hit 206 three-pointers last season at a 48.7 percent clip and averaged 24.3 points as a junior.
Yackley, also a 5-7 guard, has been the starting point guard for Sully Buttes High School since the eighth grade, and led the Chargers to the South Dakota State B Basketball state title in her junior season. She was named first-team all-state as a sophomore and junior.
Fennelly's the Dean of the Big 12
With Jody Conradt stepping down as head coach at the University of Texas at the conclusion of last season, Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly became the new dean of Big 12 coaches. Fennelly wrapped up his 12th season at Iowa State, followed closely by Deb Patterson (Kansas State) and Sherri Coale (Oklahoma), who each finished their 11th campaign at a Big 12 institution. Fennelly is tied with Coale for the most Big 12 regular-season wins by current league coaches with 110.
Home Sweet Hilton Magic
The Cyclones have been phenomenal at home during head coach Bill Fennelly's tenure, compiling a 156-27 record (.852) in Hilton Coliseum, including a 71-3 mark against regular-season non-conference opponents. Iowa State was a last-second shot away from going undefeated at home in 2006-07, finishing with a 15-1 record at Hilton. ISU finished the 2006-07 season ranked seventh in attendance, marking the ninth consecutive season the Cyclones have ranked 11th or higher in the nation.
Trey Bien
Iowa State has made at least one three-pointer in 381 consecutive games dating back to 1995. That streak now ranks second in the nation. Canisius College unofficially holds the longest current streak at 392 consecutive games, while Iowa State is second.
Take the Bus
ISU is offering a bus trip to watch the Cyclones face Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn., on Friday, Dec. 21. The trip, which will include a ticket to the game, a round-trip bus ride to Minneapolis, and last minute holiday shopping at Mall of America, is available for $40. Fans can mail in or drop off an order form at the ISU Athletic Department or register online. The deadline for registration is Monday, Dec. 3, at noon. The trip is subject to cancellation depending on participation.
NCAA Tournament Host
Iowa State will play host to the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, on March, 22 and 24, 2008. The site will host eight teams and if Iowa State is selected for the 2008 NCAA Tournament, it is guaranteed that the Cyclones will be one of the eight teams that will play in Des Moines. The teams selected to play in Des Moines will be announced on the NCAA Selection Show on ESPN Monday, March 17, 2008.
Fans can purchase all-session tickets ($35 for adults and $20 for students and youth) and single-session tickets ($15 for adults and $10 for students and youth per session). A single-session ticket will be available the week of the event and each session will include two games. Anyone 18 and under and all college students qualify for the student/youth fee. Fans can purchase tickets online at www.dahlstickets.com or by calling 1-8866-55DAHLS (866-553-2457).
Preseason Picks
The Iowa State women's basketball team was picked sixth by the Big 12 Conference coaches in the 2007-08 preseason poll. Iowa State was ranked 36th by CBSSports.com in its preseason magazine. The Cyclones were one of seven teams from the Big 12 ranked by the magazine.
