ISU Plays Host to No. 9 Baylor at 11 a.m. Saturday

02.21.2008 | Women's Basketball

By: cyclones.com

Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008 ? 11:00 a.m.

Ames, Iowa ? Hilton Coliseum (14,376)

Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield

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

Television: Fox Sports Net

Talent: Mark Neely (pxp); Debbie Antonelli (color)

Cyclone Notebook
- Iowa State will return home to play host to the ninth-ranked Baylor Lady Bears Saturday at 11 a.m. at Hilton Coliseum. The game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net, with Mark Neely and Debbie Antonelli calling the action. The game time listed on the tickets is wrong. The time was changed due to television.
- The Cyclones are wrapping up a four-game stretch against teams ranked in the top 25 and a three-game stretch against teams in the Big 12 South division. Iowa State has faced No. 17 Kansas State, No. 15 Oklahoma State, No. 21 Texas A&M in the last week and a half and will finish off the gauntlet against the ninth-ranked Lady Bears.
- Iowa State front court starters Toccara Ross and Nicky Wieben will miss the remainder of the 2007-08 season due to torn ACLs. Ross tore the ACL in her right knee against Minnesota and Wieben tore the ACL in her left knee at Texas. Ross is eligible for a redshirt, while Wieben is not.
- Iowa State will return its entire roster next season. Ross is ISU's only senior and should be eligible for another year of competition after her season-ending injury.
- With a 76-50 win over Montana State, the Cyclones collected their 500th win in program history. They are now 512-481 overall. ISU is seven games shy of 1,000 contests in school history.
- Baylor holds an 8-5 edge in the all-time series with Iowa State. The Lady Bears have won the last three meetings and six out of the last seven. BU won in Waco, 81-64, last season. In that game Angela Tisdale hit seven three-pointers to finish with 21 points for the Lady Bears.
- The Cyclones have won 17 straight at home against non-conference opponents. The loss to Oklahoma snapped an overall 15-game win streak for Iowa State in Hilton Coliseum.
- No. 9 Baylor is tied with Kansas State atop the Big 12 standings with a 10-2 record in the league. The Lady Bears' two league losses have come in their last four games and both were on the road at Oklahoma State and Texas. Both losses also came after Jhasmin Player was lost for the season due to an ACL tear in the game at Kansas State.
- Subscribers to the Clone Zone will have access to two more live game webcasts of the women's basketball team. Saturday's game against Baylor will not be webcast due to television. To subscribe to the Clone Zone, go to Cyclones.com.
- Iowa State returned 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.
- 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 275-128 at Iowa State and in his 13th season with the Cyclones. He is 441-181 in his head coaching career, which began at Toledo in 1988.

A Closer Look At Baylor
- Ninth-ranked Baylor won 20 of its first 21 games and its first eight straight Big 12 contests. But Baylor has dropped two of its last four since losing Jhasmin Player to an ACL injury in the game at Kansas State. The Lady Bears are tied with Kansas State at the top of the Big 12 standings with four games remaining on the schedule. Baylor is 22-3 overall and 10-2 in the Big 12.
- Baylor is averaging 74.1 points per game and has five players averaging double figures for the season. Angela Tisdale leads the way with 15.1 points per game. BU leads the league in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 54.7 points per game.
- Junior Jessica Morrow was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday. She averaged 19.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in Baylor's two games last week, a road loss at Texas and a home victory over 10th-ranked Oklahoma.
- For the eighth straight season and 14th time in school history the Lady Bears have achieved a 20-win season. Baylor has posted 20-win campaigns in each season since head coach Kim Mulkey assumed the program's helm eight years ago.

Quick Hits
- Iowa State is 5-7 in the Big 12 Conference, and has had three players average double figures in league games, led by Alison Lacey with 15.3 points per contest. Freshman Kelsey Bolte is averaging 14.2 ppg. Nicky Wieben posted 10.3 ppg in the Big 12 before being sidelined for the rest of the season with an injury in the Texas game. Heather Ezell has posted 9.5 points a game in conference action.
- The Cyclones have swept the state of Iowa for the last three seasons, winning all three games against instate Division I opponents. ISU knocked of Iowa, 58-44, Drake, 58-51, and Northern Iowa, 69-41, for its third straight mythical state title this season.
- Freshman Kelsey Bolte scored 20 or more points in each of her first four Big 12 games and contributed double figures in eight league games this season. She is averaging 14.2 ppg in conference play to rank 11th in the Big 12.
- The Cyclones hit nine treys in the first half at Oklahoma State and finished with 10 for the contest. Iowa State is now averaging 7.6 threes per game for the season. A Cyclone player has hit five or more treys in seven different contests this season. Alison Lacey has hit three or more treys in 11 of the last 18 games, and has hit five or more on five occasions, including knocking down five vs. Texas Tech.
- Junior Nicky Wieben was in double digits in 11 games this season, before being sidelined for the season with a knee injury. Wieben led the Cyclones in scoring in six contests.
- Nicky Wieben and Jocelyn Anderson have combined for 87 of ISU's 119 blocked shots. Wieben averaged 2.2 blocks per game after swatting seven in the first half against Hampton. She holds the ISU class record for freshmen and sophomores and finished the season fourth on the junior list with 35. Anderson holds the junior class record with 52 blocked shots this season and is averaging 2.1 per contest.
- Amanda Nisleit is averaging 6.3 ppg, after entering the season averaging 1.6 for her career. She is averaging 4.6 rebounds per contest after coming in posting 1.2 rpg.
- Toccara Ross earned the Cyclones' first double-double of the season against Iowa with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kelsey Bolte got the second double-double of the season against Creighton with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Nicky Wieben added the third of the year at Colorado with 14 points and 11 boards. Alison Lacey claimed the fourth double-double of the season and came very close to a triple-double vs. Missouri with 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
- Junior forward Gillian Bjerke has transferred to Concordia University, St. Paul, a Division II school. Bjerke did not play for the Cyclones this season, but had played in 26 games in her career prior to this season.

The Gauntlet
Iowa State is in the midst of a four-game stretch against teams ranked in the AP Top 25. The Cyclones faced No. 17 Kansas State last Wednesday, No. 15 Oklahoma State on Sunday, and No. 21 Texas A&M on Wednesday. ISU returns home to play host to No. 9 Baylor on Saturday. The Cyclones have only played four straight games against top 25 teams two other times in school history. In 2000-01, the Cyclones went 3-1 from Feb. 28 to March 10, against top 25 teams. In 2003-04, ISU went 2-2 against ranked foes, beginning with a win over second-ranked Texas Tech on Jan. 14.

The Votes Are In
Iowa State received one vote in the Associated Press Poll this week, the first for the Cyclones in several weeks. Nine teams in the Big 12 are either ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes this week.

Record Set
Junior Nicky Wieben broke Angie Welle's Iowa State career record for blocked shots against Texas, before suffering her season-ending knee injury. Wieben reset the record at 156 blocked shots in her first three seasons at ISU. Welle set the previous record from 1998 to 2002 with 155. Wieben is also now seventh on the Big 12 career list.

Build It and They Will Come
In the national attendance rankings which were last put out on Monday, Feb. 18, by the University of Wisconsin, ISU ranked fifth nationally in fans per game with 9,144.

Last Time Out
Iowa State went through an 11-minute scoring drought against No. 21 Texas A&M on Wednesday night and the Cyclones never completely recovered, falling 60-46 at Reed Arena. The Aggies went on a 20-0 run during ISU's scoreless period, putting Texas A&M up, 30-9, before Iowa State went on a 9-2 run to cut the lead, 32-19, before the Aggies scored with 30 seconds left in the half for a 34-19 score at the break. Iowa State was able to cut the lead to nine, 40-31, with 14 minutes left in the game, but the Cyclones couldn't ever get any closer. Heather Ezell led ISU with 14 points, while Alison Lacey finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Danielle Gant led Texas A&M with 22 points, including 16 in the first half.

Dynamic Duo
Combined, Alison Lacey and Kelsey Bolte have gone 102-for-243 from three-point range this season, good for 42.0 percent. Alison Lacey leads the Big 12 in three-point accuracy.

Bench Production
Since freshman Kelsey Bolte and junior Jocelyn Anderson have entered the starting lineup full-time, the Cyclone bench production has dropped off significantly. Going into the game at Texas, Iowa State was averaging 18.6 points per game off the bench. In the last nine games, the Cyclone bench has produced just 39 points for a 4.3 ppg average.

Weekly Big 12 Honors
Iowa State has earned five Big 12 weekly honors this season, with accolades most recently going to freshman Kelsey Bolte. She was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week on Monday, the third time since the start of Big 12 action she has won the honor. Bolte was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week during the first two weeks of conference play, after four straight games with 20+ points.

Bolte averaged 10.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in a loss to No. 17 Kansas State and a win at No. 15 Oklahoma State last week. Against the Wildcats, the freshman guard went 4-of-8 from the field and finished with eight points, five rebounds and two assists. In the win over the Cowgirls, Bolte was 4-of-7 from the floor, including hitting a pair of treys and a pair of free throws for 12 points. The Ida Grove, Iowa, native also led the Cyclones with eight rebounds, and passed out one assist.

Alison Lacey was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Feb. 11 after she averaged 23 points, six rebounds, and five assists in Iowa State's wins over Texas Tech and Missouri last week. In the Cyclones' win over Texas Tech, Lacey tallied 32 points, including 5 three-pointers. She went 11-of-23 from the floor and 5-of-11 from long-range. Against the Tigers, Lacey came close to her first career triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Junior Heather Ezell was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday, Nov. 19, after she tied the Big 12 and Iowa State records for three-pointers in a single game, 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.

Unlucky Number 3
Four of Iowa State's losses this season have been by three points. The Cyclones lost at home to Kansas State, 45-42. Iowa State has also fallen by three points this season at Kansas (53-50), at Texas (59-56) and vs. Oklahoma (67-64). ISU is 0-4 in games decided by less than five points.

Two of a Kind
Alison Lacey and Heather Ezell have combined for 113 of Iowa State's 189 three-pointers this season. Lacey is 28th in the nation in three-point percentage. She also ranks 13th in three-pointers per game.

Ezell hit 10 three-pointers against Sacramento State. Lacey hit nine treys in the next contest against Michigan and drained seven at Colorado. The pair knocked down nine combined three-pointers at Minnesota, 10 combined against Bowling Green and 10 combined at Colorado.

Lacey has hit a three-pointer in all but one game this season. Ezell has had one in 18 of the Cyclones' 25 games. Lacey has hit three or more in 12 games this season, including 11 of the last 18. Ezell has hit three or more six times.

Taking Care of the Ball
Sophomore point guard Alison Lacey is in her first season as Iowa State's starting point guard, but has aged quickly, ranking 55th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio. She has been a key cog in making the ISU offense run this season, passing out 4.2 assists per game, while committing just 2.5 turnovers per contest. In Big 12 contests, Lacey has had 48 assists and 32 turnovers.

70 Is the Magic Number
ISU is 65-5 (.929) in the last five seasons when scoring 70+ points in a game. The Cyclones snapped a 24-game win streak when reaching the 70-point mark against Nebraska. The streak dated back to a 79-71 OT win over Wisconsin-Green Bay on March 16, 2006.

Getting Defensive
Iowa State has held opponents to 55.5 points per game and Nebraska and Kansas State are the only two teams to break the 70-point mark in regulation against ISU this season. The Cyclones are third in the nation in fewest fouls per game with 12.9 per game. ISU's opponents have shot 38.5 percent from the floor and 31.2 percent from three-point range. ISU has forced opponents into 14.3 turnovers per game.

Nationally Speaking
ISU ranked in the top 30 in six NCAA statistical categories, released Feb. 19, including ranking third in the nation in fewest personal fouls per game. The Cyclones are eighth in three-pointers per game (7.6), 26th in blocked shots per game (4.9) and 16th in turnovers per game (14.4). Iowa State is also 20th in scoring defense. On an individual level, Alison Lacey is 28th in three-point percentage, 13th in threes per game, 55th in assist-to-turnover ratio and 95th in assists per game. Jocelyn Anderson is 36th in blocked shots. Heather Ezell is 71st in assist-to-turnover ratio as well.

Big 12 Rankings
As a team, Iowa State ranks in the top six of the conference in eight of 19 statistical categories. The Cyclones lead the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.366) and three-pointers per game (7.6). Iowa State is second in assist-to-turnover margin, rebounding defense and scoring defense. ISU is fifth in free throw percentage and rebounding margin and sixth in blocked shots. Individually, Alison Lacey leads the league in three-point percentage and is second in three-pointers made with 2.6 per contest. Heather Ezell is seventh in three-pointers made with 1.9 pg and Kelsey Bolte is 13th (1.4). Lacey and Ezell also rank fourth and sixth, respectively, in assist-to-turnover ratio. Lacey is 11th in scoring (14.6 ppg) and fifth in assists (4.2), while Ezell is 13th in assists (3.3). Jocelyn Anderson is sixth in blocked shots per game (2.1).

Down on the Block
Junior Nicky Wieben finished in double figures against Colorado (14), marking the 45th time in her ISU career she has scored in double digits and the 11th time this season to score 10+ points for the Cyclones.

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.

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 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 last 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 second in Big 12 regular-season wins by current league coaches with 115, behind Coale (119).

Home Sweet Hilton Magic
The Cyclones have been phenomenal at home during head coach Bill Fennelly's tenure, compiling a 166-30 record (.847) in Hilton Coliseum, including a 78-3 (.963) 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 404 consecutive games dating back to 1995. That streak now ranks second in the nation. Canisius College unofficially holds the longest current streak at 416 consecutive games, while Iowa State is second.

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).