Cyclones Face No. 11 Aggies in Big 12 Semis

03.12.2008 | Women's Basketball

By: cyclones.com

Thursday, March 13, 2008 ? 6 p.m.
Kansas City, Mo. ? Municipal Auditorium (9,338)
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield
Talent: Rich Fellingham (pxp); Brent Blum (color)
Television: FSN
Talent: Kevin Eschenfelder (pxp); Debbie Antonelli (color)

Cyclone Notebook
- For the second consecutive season, Iowa State will face Texas A&M in the Big 12 Championship semifinals. The Cyclones advanced for the second straight year with an overtime win in the quarterfinals. Iowa State will take on the 11th-ranked Aggies at 6 p.m. Thursday at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The ISU men will face Texas A&M at 8:30 p.m. a few blocks down the road at the Sprint Center.
- The Iowa State-Texas A&M game will be televised live by Fox Sports Net. Kevin Eschenfelder will call the action, while Debbie Antonelli provides analysis and Brenda VanLengen reports from the sideline. All postgame press conferences will be streamed live and live stats can be found at Big12Sports.com.
- 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 516-483 overall. ISU's game against Texas A&M will be its 1,000th in program history.
- No. 11 Texas A&M finished tied for third in the final Big 12 standings with an 11-5 league record. The Aggies knocked off Missouri, 65-39, on Wednesday in the Big 12 quarterfinals. Texas A&M is 24-7 on the season and has won its last seven straight, and 11 of its last 12.
- Iowa State holds a 13-3 advantage in the all-time series with Texas A&M. The Cyclones lost in College Station 60-46 on Feb. 20, to give the Aggies their third win in the series. ISU defeated A&M twice last season, including a 57-51 win in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City.
- The Cyclones have won 17 straight at home against non-conference opponents. Iowa State finished 13-4 overall at Hilton this year.
- 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 279-130 at Iowa State and in his 13th season with the Cyclones. He is 445-183 in his head coaching career, which began at Toledo in 1988.

A Closer Look At Texas A&M
- No. 11 Texas A&M has won its last seven games to tally 24 wins and seven losses this season. The Aggies went 11-5 in the Big 12 to finish in a three-way tie for third place in the final standings.
- Texas A&M defeated Missouri, 65-39, in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals Wednesday. Takia Starks turned in 18 points and nine rebounds, while La Toya Micheaux contributed 11 points in the win. The Aggies shot 47.3 percent from the floor and went 5-for-12 from three-point range.
- Juniors Takia Starks and Danielle Gant each earned All-Big 12 First-Team honors, while senior A'Quonesia Franklin was a second-team pick. Gant was also chosen to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team.
- Takia Starks leads the Aggies with 17.2 points per game this season. Gant is averaging 15 points and 7.7 rebounds to pace Texas A&M. As a team, the Aggies are shooting 41.3 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from outside for the season.
- Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is in his fifth season at the helm of the Aggie program, leading them to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments the last two years and a Big 12 regular-season title last season. He earned his 500th career win this season against Iowa State. He was voted the 2007 Big 12 Coach of the Year.

Iowa State Big 12 Championship Fun Facts
- Iowa State has won more Big 12 Championship games than any team in the league with 20 wins.
- The Cyclones became the first eight seed in the history of the Big 12 Championship to advance to a semifinal game with their win over Kansas State on Wednesday. The No. 4 seed is 0-5 in Big 12 semifinal games.
- Heather Ezell's seven three-pointers against Colorado tied the Big 12 Championship single-game record and her eight treys against Kansas State broke it. Her combined 15 three-pointers is a tournament record for a single player.
- Iowa State is 20-9 in the Big 12 Championship since it began in 1997. The Cyclones are 15-5 in conference tournament games in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
- ISU has been the eighth seed seven times in school history, but only twice in Big 12 history, including the 2003 season.
- Iowa State is 3-0 against Texas A&M in conference tournament appearances, including a 57-51 upset win over the Aggies in the semifinals last season.
- The Cyclones have made it to four title games in the 11 years of the Big 12 Championship. The only team to play in more Big 12 Championship finals is Oklahoma, which has played in five.
- Iowa State holds the best record of any team in the first round (6-1) and the semifinal round (4-2).
- As the No. 5 seed last season, Iowa State made it to the Big 12 Championship title game before falling to Oklahoma 67-60. The Cyclones defeated Kansas State in the first round. Iowa State took down Nebraska in overtime in the second round and defeated 13th-ranked Texas A&M in the semifinals.

Quick Hits
- Iowa State finished tied with Texas for seventh place in the final Big 12 standings with a 7-9 league record. ISU had three players average double figures in league games, led by Alison Lacey with 15.0 points per contest. Freshman Kelsey Bolte averaged 12.8 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 posted 9.1 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, becoming the first freshman in league history to do so, and contributed double figures in 10 league games. She averaged 12.8 ppg in conference play.
- The Cyclones hit 12 treys in their Big 12 quarterfinal win over Kansas State and are now averaging 7.8 threes per game for the season. A Cyclone player has hit five or more treys in nine different contests this season. Alison Lacey has hit three or more treys in 14 of the last 24 games, and has hit five or more on five occasions.
- 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 103 of ISU's 146 blocked shots this season. 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 blocked seven shots against Baylor and holds the Iowa State single-season record as well as the junior class record with 68 blocked shots this season. She ranks ninth on the all-time ISU career list and is averaging 2.2 per contest.
- Amanda Nisleit is averaging 6.0 ppg after entering the season averaging 1.6 for her career. She is averaging 4.7 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. Most recently, Jocelyn Anderson has earned the first three double-doubles of her career against Baylor, Missouri and ISU's Big 12 quarterfinal win over Kansas State. Lacey earned the first point-assist double-double of her career with 13 points and 10 assists vs. Colorado in the Big 12 Tournament.
- 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.

Conference Honors
Iowa State sophomore Alison Lacey and freshman Kelsey Bolte earned Big 12 postseason honors. Lacey was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team, while Bolte was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team. Lacey ranked 12th in scoring in the Big 12 this season with 14.5 points per game. She led the conference in three-point shooting, hitting 41 percent from long range. She also ranked second in three-pointers per game (2.6) and was sixth in assists (3.9). Bolte was named to the All-Rookie Team after being named Big 12 Rookie of the Week on three occasions, including the first two weeks of the Big 12 season. The Ida Grove, Iowa, native scored 20+ points in each of her first four conference games, a feat no other freshman has accomplished in Big 12 history.

A Touch of Class
Amanda Nisleit and Alison Lacey were named to the 2008 Academic All-Big 12 Teams. Nisleit was named to the academic first team, boasting a 3.82 grade-point average in elementary education. The Woodbury, Minn., has won the award for two consecutive seasons. Lacey earned a spot on the second team after posting a 3.13 GPA in her last two semesters combined in communication studies.

Anderson's Turnaround
Junior Jocelyn Anderson hit 15 consecutive free throws before missing one with just under seven minutes to go in the second half against Baylor. The streak began in the Kansas State game and spanned four games. Before the Kansas State game, Anderson was shooting 48.4 percent from the charity stripe. Anderson knocked down a key pair of free throws at the end of the game to clinch the win at Mizzou and is now shooting 55.7 percent from the stripe.

On Record
Jocelyn Anderson rewrote the Iowa State single-season blocked shots record in the game against Kansas. Anderson has 68 blocks this season, knocking off Nicky Wieben's record, which she set last season with 62. Anderson also ranks ninth on the Iowa State all-time career chart. She blocked a career-high seven shots, one shy of the ISU single-game record, against Baylor.

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, March 3, by the University of Wisconsin, ISU ranked fifth nationally in fans per game with 9,388. Iowa State had 11,824 fans at the Kansas game, which ranks 20th on the Iowa State all-time attendance list.

Last Time Out
Iowa State overcame a six-point deficit with 51 seconds remaining in overtime to defeat top-seeded and regular-season champion Kansas State, 66-65, in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon. The Cyclones were down two at the end of regulation when Alison Lacey had a wide open look at three that rimmed out, but Jocelyn Anderson grabbed the rebound and put it back with just 0.4 of a second left on the clock to send the game into overtime. ISU quickly got down six in the extra period, but the Cyclones never quit. Iowa State was down two, 65-63, after a K-State free throw miss with 10 seconds left. Alison Lacey took the ball all the way to the hole for a layup and she was fouled on the shot. She hit the free throw to give the Cyclones a one-point lead with four seconds left, 66-65. A KSU shot rolled around the rim twice before falling out at the buzzer to give the Cyclones the win. Heather Ezell hit eight threes to set a Big 12 Championship single-game record, finishing with 26 points, while Lacey had 17. Anderson had 11 points and 10 boards for ISU.

Weekly Big 12 Honors
Iowa State 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 last 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.

Luck is Changing
In their first four games decided by five or less points, the Cyclones came up on the short end. Iowa State had lost four games in conference play by three points, but three of its last five wins have come by margins of five (Oklahoma State), four (Missouri) and one point (Kansas State at the Big 12 Championship). ISU also fell to Baylor by four points.

Two of a Kind
Alison Lacey and Heather Ezell have combined for 154 of Iowa State's 243 three-pointers this season. As of Monday, March 3, Lacey was 33rd in the nation in three-point percentage. She also ranked 29th 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. The two combined for 13 vs. Colorado in the Big 12 Championship and all 12 of ISU's three-point makes vs. Kansas State in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

Lacey has hit a three-pointer in all but one game this season. Ezell has had at least one in 24 of the Cyclones' 31 games. Lacey has hit three or more in 15 games this season, including 14 of the last 24. Ezell has hit three or more 10 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 65th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (as of March 3). She has been a key cog in making the ISU offense run this season, passing out 4.2 assists per game, while committing just 2.3 turnovers per contest. In Big 12 contests, Lacey had 57 assists and 39 turnovers.

70 Is the Magic Number
ISU is 66-5 (.930) 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 55.3 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 lead the nation in fewest fouls per game with 12.9 per game. ISU's opponents have shot 38.4 percent from the floor and 32.1 percent from three-point range. ISU has forced opponents into 14.0 turnovers per game.

Nationally Speaking
ISU ranked in the top 25 in five NCAA statistical categories, released March 3, including leading the nation in fewest personal fouls per game (12.9). The Cyclones are eighth in three-pointers per game (7.4), 16th in turnovers per game (14.1) and 24th in blocked shots per game. Iowa State was also 16th in scoring defense. On an individual level, Alison Lacey is 33rd in three-point percentage, 29th in threes per game and 65th in assist-to-turnover ratio. Jocelyn Anderson is 28th in blocked shots. Heather Ezell is 96th 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 (as of March 7). The Cyclones lead the conference in three-pointers per game (7.5), three-point percentage (.362), scoring defense (55.1) and rebounding defense. Iowa State is second in assist-to-turnover ratio. The Cyclones are fifth in free throw percentage (.690) and rebounding margin (+3.9), and are sixth in blocked shots (4.8). Individually, Alison Lacey leads the league in three-point percentage (.410) 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 15th (1.3). Lacey and Ezell also rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in assist-to-turnover ratio. Lacey is 12th in scoring (14.5 ppg) and sixth in assists (3.9), while Ezell is 13th in assists (3.1). Jocelyn Anderson is sixth in blocked shots per game (2.2).

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 117, behind Coale (121).

Trey Bien
Iowa State has made at least one three-pointer in 412 consecutive games dating back to 1995. That streak now ranks second in the nation. Canisius College unofficially holds the longest current streak at 419 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. Fans can purchase tickets online at www.dahlstickets.com or by calling 1-8866-55DAHLS (866-553-2457).