Cyclones Travel North to Take On Minnesota

12.11.2009 | Women's Basketball

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State women's basketball team will play its second consecutive contest against a Big Ten opponent when the Cyclones travel to Minnesota to take on the Gophers Sunday. The game will tip at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised by the Big Ten Network.

What: Iowa State (6-1) vs. Minnesota (7-3)
When: Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009 ? 3:30 p.m.
Where: Minneapolis, Minn. ? Williams Arena (14,625)
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield; Talent: Rich Fellingham (pxp); Molly Parrott (color)
TV: Big Ten Network; Talent: Craig Coshun (pxp); Vera Jones (color)
Internet Radio: Clone Zone
Webcast: None

Cyclone Notebook
? After ISU's only road trip this month to Minnesota, the Cyclones will return to Hilton Coliseum for one final tune-up before the Christmas break with a game against Northern Iowa at 6 p.m. Dec. 20.
? Iowa State is in its 37th season of women's basketball and its 15th season under head coach Bill Fennelly. Iowa State is 550-495 in school history.
? The Cyclones have won 44 straight regular-season non-conference contests at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones have not lost a regular-season non-conference game at home since the 2003-04 season (Washington).
? The 2008-09 season was one of the best in school history for the Cyclones. They tied a school record with 27 wins and advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time. See page four for more background on last season.
? Head coach Bill Fennelly is 313-142 in his 15th season with the Cyclones. He is 479-195 in his head coaching career, which began at Toledo in 1988.

A Closer Look At Minnesota
? Minnesota holds a 7-3 record overall and a 6-0 mark at home in Williams Arena. The Golden Gophers have won their last two contests, including a 56-48 win in Big Ten action over Penn State, and a 79-44 win over Idaho State on Wednesday.
? The Gophers have three players averaging double figures this season, led by sophomore Kiara Buford with 13.3 points per game. Senior Ashley Ellis-Milan is posting 12 ppg and is leading the squad on the glass with 6.1 rebounds per game.
? Minnesota is shooting 38.4 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from beyond the arc. Four UM players have posted 11 or more treys this season, with China Antoine leading the way with 15 three-pointers.
? Minnesota has gotten to the charity stripe 230 times in 10 games this season. The Gophers are shooting 77 percent from the free-throw line. Four player have hit 83 percent or better. from there
? The Golden Gophers finished the 2008-09 season with a 20-12 overall record and a trip to the NCAA's second round. Minnesota fell to Texas A&M, 73-42, in the NCAA Championship. The Gophers finished fifth in the Big Ten with an 11-7 league record.
? Head Coach Pam Borton is in her eighth season at Minnesota, with a record of 159-76 and a career record of 228-122. She has led the Gophers to NCAA Championship appearances in six of her seven seasons, and took Minnesota to the Final Four in 2004.

The Series
? Minnesota holds a 10-7 edge in the all-time series with Iowa State. The Golden Gophers have a much larger lead, however, at 6-1, when the game is played in Minneapolis.
? This meeting between the Cyclones and Gophers will mark the fifth straight season the two have met. Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly is 4-2 against Minnesota.
? Last season, the Cyclones earned a 58-42 win over Minnesota at Hilton Coliseum. Kelsey Bolte and Amanda Nisleit led Iowa State in scoring with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Bolte also led ISU in rebounding with seven. The Cyclone defense forced 26 Golden Gopher turnovers. ISU also outrebounded Minnesota, 39-32, with 18 of the Cyclones' boards coming off the offensive glass.

Last Time Out
? Iowa State knocked down 16 three-pointers as the Cyclones defeated in-state rival Iowa, 85-66, in the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series, Thursday at Hilton Coliseum.
? Alison Lacey had her most impressive game as a Cyclone, recording just the second triple-double in school history. She posted 19 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists, five steals and two blocked shots in the winning effort.
? Kelsey Bolte also had her best game in an Iowa State uniform in the win over Iowa, hitting a career-record eight three-pointers and scoring a career-high 26 points.
? ISU had four players in double figures for the fifth time this season. The Cyclones shot 45.2 percent from the floor and 47.1 percent from beyond the arc.
? Lacey's 13 assists were a career high and tied for sixth on the ISU single-game list.
? Whitney Williams went 5-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 from downtown to tie her career high with 14 points.
? Iowa State hit at least 10 three-pointers for the fifth time this season and had 10 treys in the first half for the second straight game.

Triple Threat
ISU senior Alison Lacey has been nothing short of spectacular through the first seven games of the season. The 6-foot point guard is averaging 16.4 points, 9.1 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game. In Iowa State's win over Iowa, Lacey posted just the second triple-double in school history. She recorded 19 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. In that same game, she also had five steals and two blocked shots. The only other triple-double in school history was by Jane Lobenstein in a game vs. Kansas in 1986. She had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Lacey has scored in double figures in every game this season and has only turned the ball over 11 times in seven games.

On Fire
Iowa State has been the hottest three-point team in the nation this season. The Cyclones have averaged 11.7 three-pointers per game and have shot the ball at a 45.9 percent clip from beyond the arc. Iowa State has hit 10 or more three-pointers in five of its seven games this season. In the last two games combined, Iowa State has hit 33 three-pointers (17 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 16 vs. Iowa). It's the first time in school history Iowa State has hit 30 or more treys in back-to-back games. ISU has also hit at least 10 threes by halftime in each of the last two games. Three Cyclones have knocked down 19 or more three-pointers this season. Kelsey Bolte has hit 24 treys at a staggering 57.1 percent clip. Alison Lacey has hit 20, while shooting 37 percent. Whitney Williams has 19 treys, hitting 54.3 percent. Five ISU players are shooting 50 percent or better from long range this season.

National Status
In NCAA statistics released on Monday, Iowa State had several individuals who ranked highly in a number of categories. Alison Lacey led the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.1) and ranked third in assists per game (8.5). Two Cyclones ranked in the top 25 of three-point percentage, including Kelsey Bolte at ninth (.552) and Whitney Williams at 23rd (.500). Bolte and Lacey each ranked highly in three-pointers per game, with Bolte ranking 18th (3.2) and Lacey 26th (3.0). Anna Prins ranked 12th in field-goal percentage (.625).

Big 12 Status
Individually in the Big 12, Alison Lacey leads the league in assists (9.1) as well as assist-to-turnover margin (5.8) and ranks eighth in scoring (16.4). Kelsey Bolte leads the league in three-pointers made with 4.0 pg and Lacey is tied for third with 2.9. Bolte is also fifth in three-point percentage (.571).

Player of the Week
Anna Prins was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Freshman of the Week by a media voting panel for season-opening games of Nov. 13-15. Prins scored 20 points in ISU's win over Florida Atlantic. The 6-7 center went 7-of-10 from the field, including hitting three of her five attempts from behind the three-point line. She also connected on 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Prins led all Big 12 freshmen in scoring in the opening weekend of regular-season action. She is the first Cyclone newcomer to win the award since Kelsey Bolte earned Freshman of the Week accolades three times during the 2008 season. Prins is the first Iowa State newcomer to ever win the award in the first week of the season.

2008-09 Season Rewind
? The Iowa State women's basketball team produced one of the greatest seasons in school history in 2008-09, winning a school-record tying 27 games and advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight for the second time in school history. The Cyclones finished tied for third in the Big 12 regular-season standings and advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship for the third consecutive season.
? Iowa State finished the season at 27-9 overall and 11-5 in the Big 12. The Cyclones have reached 20 wins for three straight seasons and 10 times in school history, including nine under head coach Bill Fennelly. The Cyclones' 23 regular-season wins tied the ISU record (also done in 1997-98).
? The Cyclones finished the season ranked 17th in the final Associated Press Poll (which is put out before the NCAA Championship begins) and were ranked 11th in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. ISU's No. 11 ranking in the coaches' top 25 was its highest postseason ranking since the 2000-01 campaign when it finished seventh.

Preseason Accolades
Senior point guard Alison Lacey has earned Preseason All-Big 12 accolades for the second consecutive year. She was chosen as an honorable-mention pick by league coaches. Lacey ranked sixth among Big 12 returners in career scoring and ninth in career rebounding, entering the 2009-10 season.

1,000-Point Club Members
Alison Lacey joined the Iowa State 1,000-point club last season in the home win over Nebraska. She was the 21st player in school history to reach that mark and currently ranks 12th in ISU career scoring with 1,262 points. Junior Kelsey Bolte is also on pace to reach 1,000 career points this season, currently sitting at 778. Seven times in school history ISU has had two or more 1,000-point club members on the same squad.

Faces In the Crowd
The 2009-10 Cyclone roster is full of new faces with four freshmen and one junior college transfer. After graduating three starters from last season's squad, this season's team looks vastly different. Alison Lacey and Kelsey Bolte are the Cyclones' only returning starters and ISU returned just 28 points and 13 rebounds per contest from a season ago. With the exception of senior Genesis Lightbourne, ISU's inside players are all brand new. Anna Prins, Amanda Zimmerman and Chelsea Poppens will try to fill the void left by Amanda Nisleit, Nicky Wieben, Jocelyn Anderson, Toccara Ross and Ashley Arlen. Fellow freshman Jessica Schroll and junior college transfer Chassidy Cole are helping to build depth in the Cyclone back court.

Above It All
Cyclone freshman Anna Prins, at 6 feet 7 inches tall, is the tallest player in Iowa State women's basketball history. The previous tallest player was Kate Bauman, a freshman on the 2000-01 squad. Bauman only played one season for the Cyclones.

Enjoying a New Home
In September, both the ISU women's and men's basketball teams moved into the brand new Sukup Basketball Complex. The 37,000-square-foot, $8 million facility offers all of the amenities a program needs. Both basketball programs have 24-hour access to their own regulation size court and each team has its own team/lounge area and locker room. Both programs share a training center with taping stations, self-contained whirlpools and treatment tables to fully accommodate any rehabilitation or treatment demands. The training center also includes a fully equipped weight room and access to a treadmill and elliptical machine. The second floor houses the coaches' offices as well as a balcony video deck overlooking each court, video editing rooms, and a theater room for watching film.

Hilton Magic
Iowa State finished the 2008-09 season ranked third in NCAA attendance with an average of 9,754 fans per game. It was the highest attendance ranking in school history for the Cyclones and marked the 11th consecutive season of ranking 11th or higher in home attendance.

Welcome Back
The NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds will return to Ames and Hilton Coliseum March 21 and 23, 2010. Iowa State will play host to the NCAA women's basketball first- and second-round games for the seventh time since 1998, in addition to serving as host to the 2002 Midwest Regional. In 2008, the Cyclones played host to NCAA first- and second-round games in Des Moines at Wells Fargo Arena. Since the NCAA has returned to a format of 16 four-team sites, Iowa State was able to play host at Hilton Coliseum.

Trey Bien
Iowa State has made at least one three-pointer in 457 consecutive games dating back to 1995. That streak ranks second in the nation. Canisius College unofficially holds the longest current streak at 461 consecutive games.

What are you doing?
Follow Cyclone women's basketball updates on Twitter. The overall ISU women's basketball account can be found @CycloneWBB. ISU head coach Bill Fennelly is also on Twitter and he can be found @ISUCoachFen.

A Sign of the New York Times
ISU senior Alison Lacey will continue to write a blog this season for the New York Times. It can be found periodically at: http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com.

The Weekly Word
ISU sophomore Whitney Williams will post a weekly video blog throughout the Cyclones' 2009-10 season. They will be posted on Fridays and will cover a variety of topics. To get the inside scoop on ISU women's basketball, Cyclone fans should check out the Weekly Word at cyclones.com.

The Magic Number
Iowa State is 74-14 (.841) all-time in Big 12 conference regular-season play when holding opponents under 60 points. ISU is 53-50 (.515) when a Big 12 opponent scores 60-79 points and 1-16 (.059) when the opponent scores 80 or more points. The Cyclones have lost 15 consecutive contests when allowing a league foe to reach the 80-point mark.

Home Sweet Hilton Magic
The Cyclones have been phenomenal at home during head coach Bill Fennelly's tenure, compiling a 185-33 record (.849) in Hilton Coliseum, including a 89-3 (.967) mark against regular-season non-conference opponents. Iowa State has gone undefeated at home three times, most recently during the 2004-05 season.

Joining the Team
The Cyclones have signed three players to National Letters of Intent for the 2010-11 season. Hallie Chistofferson, a senior from Exira, is an instate addition to the Cyclone roster, while Kelsey Harris is a guard from California and Lauren Mansfield is a sophomore at Midland (Texas) College but is originally from Adelaide, Australia. Going into her senior campaign, Christofferson, a 6-3 forward, had accumulated 1,542 career points for an average of 21.4 points per game and pulled down 911 career rebounds for an average of 12.7 rpg. Mansfield, a 5-7 guard, is a true point guard with outstanding three-point shooting ability. In her first season at Midland College, she shot a stellar 48 percent from beyond the arc while leading the Lady Chaps to a 30-2 overall record. Harris, a 5-10 guard, is also an outstanding three-point shooter. As a junior, she led Brea to the California state championship game, where she hit five three-pointers and scored 25 points.

Coaching Consistency
Iowa State has returned the same coaching staff for the last seven seasons. Associate head coach Jack Easley is the newest to the staff and is in his seventh campaign with the Cyclones. Latoja Schaben 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 eight seasons.