Mar 9, 2024; Kansas City, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Emily Ryan (11) brings the ball up the court while defended by Baylor Lady Bears guard Jana Van Gytenbeek (4) during the second half at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Amy Kontras-USA TODAY Sports
KANSAS CITY — After winning its Big 12 quarterfinal game against Baylor on Saturday, No. 4 Iowa State moves on to face the only Big 12 team that handed them a loss at Hilton Coliseum this year.
In their last win, the Cyclones went on a four-minute, 29-second scoreless drought during the fourth quarter – and they know that won’t be acceptable on Monday against the Sooners (1:30 p.m. ESPN2).
“That’s the big thing for us,” point guard Emily Ryan said. “We can’t have any scoring droughts because we know they’re going to keep scoring. Like Coach Fennelly always says to us, you’ve just got to keep scoring so you can stay in the game until the end, and then hopefully you find a way.”
The two teams matched up last month at Hilton Coliseum, with the Sooners leaving Ames with an 86-72 win in a game Iowa State allowed to get away from them.
Scoring quickly in bunches is a major component of Oklahoma’s success this season, and played a critical role in the program securing the Big 12 regular season championship.
“They play really fast,” Ryan said. “When they get going, (the game) can change really quickly. And they went on, I think it was a 12-0 run in the second quarter or something. That’s kind of where the game really shifted. We weren’t able to dig out of that hole, even though we made a few runs out of it.”
Iowa State will try to avoid the big runs through its scouting report defense. However, OU boasts a unique challenge with a deep roster. The Sooners’ 11 players have each appeared in 24 games or more.
“We’re a team that’s very personnel-driven scouting wise, which is hard against them, because they play a lot of kids, and play with a lot of pace,” Bill Fennelly said. “And I think that when you look at it, they won the league, they won basically every award in the league. So I think they’re – no question in my mind – they’re a team that should be hosting in the NCAA Tournament. That’s what (the Big 12 Tournament is) about, you go from one ranked team to another one. So it’ll be a tremendous challenge. But our kids are excited about the chance.”
With as much pace and offense that Oklahoma plays with, there’s plenty to prepare for. But Fennelly doesn’t believe that team’s can accurately prep for the pace while practicing on their off-day in Kansas City. That preparation happens in the regular season.
“At this point, you really don’t,” Fennelly said. “I mean, at practice today you show up and stretch, and do something live for like 12 minutes just to get their heart rate up, but I mean, you really can’t do it. You hope that you’ve done it, preparing for other teams, but now’s not the time to do it.”
Fennelly’s program will take the approach it has used over the years that earned it a Big 12 tournament championship last season. That run featured a win over Oklahoma in the semifinals, too.
“I think we show a lot more video this time of year,” Fennelly said. “And again, our kids have played, and we’ve played, against Oklahoma a lot. And this goes back to when (coach Jennie Baranczyk) was at Drake. So it’s kind of like we’ve seen that style. And so we know what’s coming. Just sometimes knowing that doesn’t mean you have the answer for it.”
Iowa State hopes to find that answer Monday.
