Hawkeyes Present Next Test for Cyclone WBB

12.03.2007 | Women's Basketball

By: cyclones.com

Iowa State (4-1, 0-0) vs. Iowa (5-2, 0-0)Dec. 5, 2007 ? 7 p.m.

Ames, Iowa ? Hilton Coliseum (14,356)

Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield

Talent: Rich Fellingham (pxp); Brent Blum (color)

Television: Mediacom Connections Channel

Webcast: Clone Zone at cyclones.com (Mediacom)

Cyclone Notebook

-Iowa State will face Iowa in the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones will face all three instate Division I programs in three of their next four contests, going to Drake on Sunday, Dec. 9, and playing host to Northern Iowa on Dec. 18, after taking on Creighton.

-With a 76-50 win over Montana State on Friday night, the Cyclones collected their 500th win in program history, making them 500-473 overall.

-Iowa State faces Iowa for the 38th time on Wednesday. The Cyclones trail, 20-17, in the series, but have won three of the last four meetings and eight of the last 10. Iowa State won, 80-74, in Iowa City last season.

-Iowa State started the season 3-0 for the eighth time in school history. ISU has won its last nine straight games at home, dating back to last season. The Cyclones have won 11 straight at home against non-conference opponents.

-Iowa comes to Ames with a 5-2 overall record. The Hawkeyes defeated Detroit, 65-42, Sunday at home. Iowa lost its previous two contests, to No. 13 Arizona State, 60-58, and to Georgia Tech, 76-57.

-The Iowa State-Iowa game will be televised on Mediacom (cable channel 22 in Ames) Wednesday. B.J. Schaben and former ISU point guard Lyndsey Medders will call the action.

-Subscribers to the Clone Zone will have access to 15 more live game web casts of the women's basketball team, including Wednesday's game against Iowa. 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.

-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 263-120 at Iowa State and in his 13th season with the Cyclones. He is 429-173 in his head coaching career, which began at Toledo in 1988.

A Closer Look At Iowa
-Iowa defeated Detroit at home, 65-42, Sunday to move to 5-2 on the season and break a two-game losing skid. The Hawkeyes have played four of their seven games at home and have only played one true road contest, traveling to Northern Iowa.

-Iowa has already defeated Drake, 62-50, and Northern Iowa, 77-67, this season.

-Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder is in her eighth season as head coach and her 24th season as a college head coach. Bluder has a career record of 488-231 (.678), including a 132-89 (.595) record at Iowa. Bluder is Iowa's second all-time winningest coach and trails only C. Vivian Stringer.

-The Hawkeyes are averaging 62.9 points per game, while holding opponents to 56.0 ppg. Iowa is shooting 45.9 percent from the floor and 39.5 percent (32-81) from beyond the arc. The Hawks have outrebounded opponents with a +3.6 margin, but have committed 19.1 turnovers per game.

-Junior Kristi Smith is leading UI with 12.1 points per game, shooting 45.5 percent from the field. She is also averaging a team-leading 3.4 assists per contest. Junior Wendy Ausdemore is averaging 11.6 points per game, with 17 of her 28 field goals on the season coming from beyond the arc to lead Iowa from long range.

Last Time Out
Iowa State earned a 76-50 win over Montana State on Friday night. The Cyclones shot 47.3 percent for the contest, while holding the Bobcats to 34.4 percent. Iowa State hit eight three-pointers, but was a dismal 16-for-28 from the charity stripe. The Cyclones outrebounded MSU, 50-25, while committing 19 turnovers. Iowa State finally got the balance it was looking for this season, as four players finished in double figures and two more finished with nine points. Nicky Wieben led ISU with 16 points and three blocked shots, while Amanda Nisleit had career highs with nine points and a team-leading 12 rebounds.

It's Raining Threes
The Cyclones have averaged 9.6 three-pointers per game this season, hitting 17 and 12, respectively, against Sacramento State and Michigan. Heather Ezell knocked down 10 treys in the win over Sacramento State and Alison Lacey caught fire, draining nine in the win over Michigan. Iowa State is shooting 40.0 percent from beyond the arc, which leads the Big 12 Conference.

Scouting the Cyclones
Through five games this season, the Cyclones have gone to several different players for big games. Three different players have led ISU in scoring: Nicky Wieben (three times), Heather Ezell (Sacramento State, 32) and Alison Lacey (Michigan, 35). Six different players have also led ISU on the glass: Denae Stuckey and Toccara Ross (Pepperdine, 7), Jocelyn Anderson (Sacramento State, 9), Kelsey Bolte (Michigan, 6), Nicky Wieben (Vanderbilt, 9) and Amanda Nisleit (Montana State, 12).

Facing the Big Ten
Iowa State will face its second Big Ten opponent of the year against Iowa and will face three before the end of the non-conference slate. ISU defeated Michigan, 67-43, in the Vanderbilt Tournament. The Cyclones will also travel to Minnesota on Friday, Dec. 21. Iowa State was 2-0 against Big Ten teams a year ago and have won four out of its last five against teams from that league. ISU head coach Bill Fennelly is 22-10 all-time against teams from the Big Ten and 17-6 while at ISU.

Getting Defensive
Iowa State has held opponents to 51.8 points per game and has only allowed one opponent to score more than 60 points this season (62 by No. 19 Vanderbilt). The Cyclones' opponents have shot 36.8 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from three-point range. ISU has forced opponents into 15.4 turnovers per game.

Down on the Block
Junior Nicky Wieben finished in double figures against Montana State (16), marking the 39th time in her ISU career she has scored in double digits and the seventh consecutive game to score 10+ points for the Cyclones. She matched her career high with 24 points against Pepperdine. She also has 10 blocks on the season and 131 blocked shots for her career. She needs 25 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. Lacey has passed out a team-leading 25 assists this season for a 5.0 apg average, while committing just 15 turnovers.

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 received votes in both polls last week. The Cyclones received one vote in the AP Poll and 10 votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, ranking 36th.

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 157-27 record (.853) in Hilton Coliseum, including a 72-3 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 384 consecutive games dating back to 1995. That streak now ranks second in the nation. Canisius College unofficially holds the longest current streak at 396 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.