Iowa State’s forward Nyamer Diew (1) gestures after scoring a 3-pointer against Oklahoma in the Big 12 basketball tournament semifinal, Saturday, March 11, 2023, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. © Annie Rice/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the second straight day, Municipal Auditorium played host to an Iowa State postseason game that had the atmosphere that felt like a heavyweight boxing match.
Every point packed a punch and the next big one could come at any time. And for the second straight game, Iowa State earned its way to a win defeating Oklahoma 82-72 to clinch a spot in Sunday’s Big 12 title game.
“Another great game,” Fennelly said. “Two teams that played as hard as they could play. A great environment. We made some big shot at big times.”
The Cyclones saw acceptional performances from both Ashley Joens and Lexi Donarski, who combined for 42 points
But what put this game over the top, as far as the double-digit result on the scoreboard, was because of the game of Nyamer Diew, who collected 19 points and three rebounds.
Diew even gave up her starting role at the halftime break.
“It speaks to the character of our team and I think everyone needs to hear this,” Fennelly said. “Ny, obviously, was great in the first half and we were going to start her in the second. She said, ‘Coach, Mo is a senior, she should start.’ When is the last time you heard that? That’s the kind of team I get to coach every day.”
That’s speaks to the ‘we over me’ mantra that Fennelly has rolled with in recent years, but might more speak to Diew as a player.
Iowa State fans know how tight of a group it has in its current team, which spans the better part of four years for some on the roster and obviously five with Joens. And at times, Diew can play streaky – coming off of the bench just seemed like the better decision – and it led to her asking Fennelly if Kane could start things off.
“Mo is not going to play at the Big 12 tournament again – she deserves the starting spot,” Diew said. “I can be a little streaky sometimes and (Kane) is always there supporting me.”
Iowa State led by three points going into halftime. The lead grew to six before Diew checked then and grew again to 11 forcing Oklahoma to take the first timeout of the second half.
“I just knew,” Diew said. “I was more comfortable coming off of the bench.”
Oklahoma staged a late charge after Iowa State had gone ahead by 17 points in the game, but the Cyclones were able to close it out.
“We had about a four or five-minute spurt where we really looked confused,” Fennelly said. “We went to a zone – and we don’t see a lot of zone – and that’s on me. Everyone kept thinking we should call a timeout. My dad’s probably yelling at me because I didn’t. That’s what March is about. Emily turns and hits that one at the buzzer and it’s a fluke, but that’s what makes it cool.”
Now it turns the page to a matchup that feels bigger than the last two – as Iowa State will face Texas on Sunday for the Big 12 championship.
It’s come full circle for Ashley Joens, who was a freshman the last time the Cyclones played in the final game of the tournament.
“The thing about Texas is obviously their size,” Fennelly said. “You have the best on-ball defender and a lot of size. We will try to figure out something. I told my players not to think about Texas and just celebrate what they did today.”
Iowa State knocked down the other two big dogs they’ve faced off with in recent years over the past two days.
They have a chance to complete the ultimate sweep on Sunday.
“If you lose today, it doesn’t mean there are a lot of good things that hasn’t happened,” Fennelly said. “Certainly playing in your conference championship game in the last time (at Municipal Auditorium), which is sad for me in a lot of ways.”
“There’s only two teams playing tomorrow, and we’re one of them, so that’s kind of cool,” Fennelly said.
