Cyclones Play Host to UNI After Finals

12.17.2009 | Women's Basketball

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa - After a week off for final exams, the Iowa State women's basketball team will play host to Northern Iowa at 6 p.m. Sunday at Hilton Coliseum. The game will mark the final of three in-state contests this season for the Cyclones. ISU will try to push its winning streak to seven straight against the Panthers.

What: Iowa State (7-1) vs. Northern Iowa (4-5)
When: Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009 ? 6 p.m.
Where: Ames, Iowa ? Hilton Coliseum (14,356)
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield; Talent: Rich Fellingham (pxp); Molly Parrott (color)
TV: Mediacom; Talent: BJ Schaben (pxp); Lyndsey Fennelly (color)
Webcast: Clone Zone
Internet Radio: Clone Zone
Webcast: Clone Zone

Cyclone Notebook
? Following the game against UNI, the Cyclones will take the next eight days off for the holidays before returning to Hilton Coliseum for the Cyclone Challenge, Dec. 29-30.
? Iowa State is in its 37th season of women's basketball and its 15th season under head coach Bill Fennelly. Iowa State is 551-495 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 314-142 in his 15th season with the Cyclones. He is 480-195 in his head coaching career, which began at Toledo in 1988.

A Closer Look At Northern Iowa
? Northern Iowa has won four of its last five games this season, to bring a 4-5 overall record into Ames. The Panthers earned a dominating 80-60 win over South Dakota last Sunday by getting to the line 31 times and forcing 19 South Dakota turnovers.
? UNI returns all five starters from a season ago. Last season, the Panthers finished with an 11-19 overall record and a 9-9 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference. Northern Iowa was picked to finish fourth in the MVC in the preseason.
? The Panthers are averaging 66.1 points per game, while shooting 40.7 percent from the field. Jacqui Kalin is leading the way for UNI with 13.1 points and two three-pointers per game this season.
? Northern Iowa has committed 20 turnovers per game this season. The Panthers committed a season-high 28 vs. Louisville, but trimmed that number to 14 in their last game vs. South Dakota.
? UNI head coach Tanya Warren is in her third season with the Panthers, posting a 28-42 overall record. Warren previously served as an assistant coach at UNI for six seasons and was an assistant at Iowa State for one season.

The Series
? Iowa State holds a 29-8 lead in the all-time series with Northern Iowa. The Cyclones are 14-0 against the Panthers in Ames.
? Iowa State has won the last six games in the series with Northern Iowa. The Cyclones have also won 11 of the last 12 meetings.
? In the two teams' last meeting at UNI last season, the Cyclones earned a 79-54 win. ISU shot 48.3 percent from the field and drained 10 three-pointers to control the contest throughout. Kelsey Bolte led ISU with 17 points, all of them coming in the first half. Heather Ezell finished with 13 points and Amanda Nisleit chipped in 11 for the Cyclones. Iowa State had a solid night on the glass, outrebounding UNI 53-29. ISU came out of the gates blistering hot, jumping out to an 18-3 lead behind a 7-for-8 showing from the field and a 4-of-5 performance from three-point range over the first five minutes. Bolte had 11 of ISU's first 13 points in the contest, hitting three consecutive treys. She had five three-pointers in the first half.

Last Time Out
? Iowa State shot 56.5 percent from the field and went 16-for-19 from the charity stripe in the second half as the Cyclones pulled away for a 77-60 win at Minnesota last Sunday. The ISU defense also played a crucial role, holding the Gophers to 33.3 percent shooting in the contest.
? Alison Lacey scored a team-high 23 points, going 9-for-9 from the free throw line, to move up to 11th place on the ISU career scoring chart with 1,285 points. She also moved up to third place on ISU's career free-throw percentage list (.825).
? Sophomore Whitney Williams had her best game as a Cyclone, scoring a career-high 17 points. She also went 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. Her stat line included three assist, two steals and two rebounds.
? Freshman Chelsea Poppens recorded the first official double-double of her career with 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. She also blocked two shots and got a steal in the win.
? Iowa State was active on the glass, outrebounding a physical Minnesota squad, 37-28.
? In a game that was called tightly, both teams shot 20+ free throws. Iowa State went a season-best 81.8 percent from the charity stripe, hitting 26-of-32 attempts. Minnesota went 19-for-24 from the line.

Triple Threat
ISU senior Alison Lacey has been nothing short of spectacular through the first eight games of the season. The 6-foot point guard is averaging 17.3 points, 8.4 assists and 4.4 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 13 times in eight games.

On Fire
Iowa State has been the hottest three-point team in the nation this season. The Cyclones have averaged 11 three-pointers per game and have shot the ball at a 45.6 percent clip from beyond the arc. Iowa State has hit 10 or more three-pointers in five of its eight games this season. Iowa State hit 33 three-pointers in back-to-back games this season (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 consecutive games combined. ISU has also hit at least 10 threes by halftime in two games. Three Cyclones have knocked down 21 or more three-pointers. Kelsey Bolte has hit 24 treys at a staggering 55.2 percent clip. Alison Lacey has hit 22, while shooting 39.3 percent. Whitney Williams has 21 treys, hitting 53.8 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 ranked in the top three of four categories. She leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.2) and ranks third in assists per game (8.4), free throw percentage (.957) and triple-doubles (1). Two Cyclones ranked in the top 10 in three-point percentage, including Whitney Williams at sixth (.538) and Kelsey Bolte at ninth (.522). Bolte, Lacey and Williams each ranked highly in three-pointers per game, with Bolte ranking ninth (3.4), Lacey at 38th (2.8) and Williams at 50th (2.6).

Big 12 Status
Individually in the Big 12, Alison Lacey leads the league in assists (8.4) as well as assist-to-turnover margin (5.2) and free throw percentage (.957). She also ranks seventh in scoring (17.3). Kelsey Bolte leads the league in three-pointers made with 3.4 pg, Lacey is fourth with 2.8 and Whitney Williams is fifth with 2.6. Williams is third in three-point percentage (.538) and Bolte is fifth (.522).

Big 12 Player of the Week
The Cyclones have won a pair of Big 12 weekly honors this season. Alison Lacey was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 7-13. Anna Prins was named Big 12 Freshman of the week for the week of Nov. 13-15. In wins over Big Ten foes Iowa and Minnesota, Lacey averaged 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists per game. In the win over Iowa, she posted just the second triple-double in school history and the 13th in Big 12 Conference history. It was the third weekly Big 12 honor of her career. Prins earned her honor in the first week of the season after scoring 20 points in ISU's win over Florida Atlantic. She went 7-of-10 from the field, including hitting three of her five attempts from behind the three-point line. 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 1,285 points. Junior Kelsey Bolte is also on pace to reach 1,000 career points this season, currently sitting at 783. 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 458 consecutive games dating back to 1995. That streak ranks second in the nation. Canisius College unofficially holds the longest current streak at 462 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.