Iowa State Plays Host to Cyclone Challenge, Dec. 29-30

12.27.2009 | Women's Basketball

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State women's basketball team will play host to four teams in the Cyclone Challenge on Dec. 29 and 30. Games will start at 5 p.m. each day, and the Cyclones will take the court at 7:30 p.m. ISU will face North Carolina A&T on Tuesday and Fairfield on Wednesday. UMKC will also participate in the tournament, but will not face ISU.

What: Cyclone Challenge
When: Tuesday-Wednesday, Dec. 29-30, 2009 ? 5/7:30 p.m.
Where: Ames, Iowa ? Hilton Coliseum (14,356)
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield; Talent: Rich Fellingham (pxp); Molly Parrott (color)
TV: None
Internet Radio: Clone Zone
Live Stats: Links listed below
UMKC vs. Fairfield Live Stats
Iowa State vs. North Carolina A&T Live Stats
UMKC vs. North Carolina A&T Live Stats
Iowa State vs. Fairfield Live Stats

Cyclone Notebook
? Including the Cyclone Challenge, Iowa State has just four non-conference contests remaining on the schedule. ISU will next be in action against Lafayette College Jan. 3.
? Iowa State is in its 37th season of women's basketball and its 15th season under head coach Bill Fennelly. Iowa State is 552-495 in school history.
? The Cyclones have won 45 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 315-142 in his 15th season with the Cyclones. He is 481-195 in his head coaching career, which began at Toledo in 1988.

A Closer Look At North Carolina A&T
? North Carolina A&T is 4-5 this season, and has not played since falling to LSU, 75-33, on Dec. 16. The Aggies are 1-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference after winning at Norfolk State to open the conference slate.
? The Aggies have a starting five that includes two seniors and three sophomores. Senior Ta'Wuana Cook is leading NC A&T with 15.4 points per game. She is the only Aggie averaging double figures and is their primary three-point threat with 22 treys this season. Fellow senior Lamona Smalley is their top shooter, shooting 60.7 percent from the field this season.
? North Carolina A&T has won back-to-back MEAC regular-season titles, a MEAC Tournament Championship and made the NCAA Tournament last season. The Aggies finished the season with a 26-7 overall record and lost to Florida State in the opening round of the NCAA Tourney after earning a No. 14 seed, the highest seed in the history of the MEAC. The Aggies finished the season with a +22.7 points per game winning margin in MEAC contests.
? Head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs is in her fifth season at North Carolina A&T, where she has accumulated an 81-52 record overall and a 52-17 mark in the MEAC. She has won MEAC Coach of the Year honors in each of the last two seasons. She boasts a career record of 452-258.

A Closer Look At Fairfield
? Fairfield is 6-3 this season, including a 3-2 mark on the road. Stephanie Geehan has scored a double-double in six consecutive games, including 17 points and team-best 11 rebounds in the Stags loss at Albany Dec. 23.
? Stephanie Geehan (15.3 ppg) and Desiree Pina (13.4 ppg) are the Stags scoring leaders this season. Geehan has led the Stags in scoring in four games and Pina in three. Fairfield is averaging 60.9 points per game and shooting 40.3 percent from the field as a team.
? Fairfield was voted sixth in the preseason poll of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) head coaches. Geehan was named to the preseason All-MAAC Second Team after earning All-MAAC Third Team honors last season. In 2008-09 she set a school and MAAC single-season record with 96 blocks. She averaged 8.7 points a game, and is the second top returning rebounder in the MAAC, after leading the Stags in that category a year ago at 8.4 per game.
? Joe Frager is in his second season as the head coach at Fairfield University, and his 11th at the collegiate level. In his first decade at the collegiate level he built an impressive resume, including a Division II National Championship, an average of 21.1 wins per season, six Coach of the Year awards, and numerous other accolades. In his first season at the helm of the Stags, he tallied a 22-win season, the fourth highest single-season win total in program history.

Last Time Out
? Iowa State shot a season best 59.2 percent from the field in a 76-51 win over Northern Iowa on Dec. 20. The Cyclones hit 10 three-pointers for the sixth time this season.
? Alison Lacey nearly recorded her second triple-double of the campaign, with 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. She was an impressive 9-for-10 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc in the win.
? Freshman Amanda Zimmerman had her best game as a Cyclone against UNI, posting a career high in nearly every statistical category. She was 5-of-5 from the field to finish with 11 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists.
? Iowa State has outrebounded every opponent this season, including three games with at least a +10 rebounding margin. ISU took a 41-26 advantage on the glass against Northern Iowa.
? In a trend that is atypical of Bill Fennelly squads, Iowa State shot worse from the free throw line then it did from the field against UNI. The Cyclones shot 59.2 percent from the field and just 57.1 percent from the charity stripe against the Panthers.

Triple Threat
ISU senior Alison Lacey has been nothing short of spectacular through the first nine games of the season. The 6-foot point guard is averaging 17.9 points, 8.1 assists and 5.0 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 16 times in nine games. She is shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from beyond the arc.

On Fire
Iowa State has been the hottest three-point team in the nation this season. The Cyclones have averaged 10.9 three-pointers per game and have shot the ball at a 46.2 percent clip from beyond the arc. Iowa State has hit 10 or more three-pointers in six of its nine 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 24 or more three-pointers. Kelsey Bolte has hit 26 treys at a staggering 53.1 percent clip. Alison Lacey has hit 24, while shooting 40.7 percent. Whitney Williams has 24 treys, hitting 54.5 percent. Five ISU players are shooting 50 percent or better from long range this season.

National Status
In NCAA statistics released on Monday (Dec. 20), Iowa State had several individuals who ranked highly in a number of categories. Alison Lacey ranked in the top three in three categories. She leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.6) and ranks third in assists per game (8.1), and triple-doubles (1). Two Cyclones ranked in the top 10 in three-point percentage, including Whitney Williams at sixth (.545) and Kelsey Bolte at seventh (.531). Bolte, Lacey and Williams each ranked highly in three-pointers per game, with Bolte ranking 14th (3.3), while Lacey and Williams are tied at 44th (2.7).

Big 12 Status
Individually in the Big 12, Alison Lacey leads the league in assists (8.1) as well as assist-to-turnover margin (4.6) and is second in free throw percentage (.893). She also ranks eighth in scoring (17.9). Kelsey Bolte leads the league in three-pointers made with 3.3 pg, while Lacey and Whitney Williams are tied at fifth with 2.7. Williams is second in three-point percentage (.545) and Bolte is third (.531).

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 11th in ISU career scoring with 1,308 points. Junior Kelsey Bolte is also on pace to reach 1,000 career points this season, currently sitting at 791. 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 459 consecutive games dating back to 1995. That streak ranks second in the nation. Canisius College unofficially holds the longest current streak at 464 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 186-33 record (.849) in Hilton Coliseum, including a 90-3 (.968) 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.