Iowa State Cyclones’ guard Kenzie Hare (12) steals the ball from Indiana State Sycamores guard Savannah White (2) during the second quarter in the NCAA women’s basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
AMES — On a night when Bill Fennelly stood at midcourt to be honored for being in his 30th season as Iowa State’s head women’s basketball coach, his team proceeded to shoot 30 percent from the field — and still beat Indiana State by 22 points.
“Offensively, we set the sport back a lot tonight,” said Fennelly, whose eighth-ranked Cyclones (2-0) beat the Sycamores, 64-42, Thursday night before a crowd of 9,992 fans at Hilton Coliseum. “But I thought defensively we were really good. Really good. And when you shoot it the way we shot it tonight, we have to find something positive.”
Most of those feel-good moments came on the defensive end of the floor. ISU limited Indiana State to 25 percent shooting overall and a 3-for-19 mark from beyond the arc. The Cyclones outscored the Sycamores 50-26 over the final three quarters to not just survive, but thrive despite one of their chilliest shooting performances in recent memory.
“That’s the great thing about basketball,” Fennelly said. “There (are) other things you can do, and if you’re mature enough and committed enough to your teammates, my night tonight is I’m gonna defend, I’m gonna rebound, I’m gonna screen, I’m gonna pass, and the basketball gods usually reward you later with a med shot or something. So, last year, I’m not saying we wouldn’t have won this game. We certainly wouldn’t have won by (22), so, again, it’s a credit to the kids (and) it’s a credit to my staff.”
Star center Audi Crooks led ISU with 16 points and added eight rebounds — and 12 of those points came in the second half. Addy Brown notched a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds), and point guard Emily Ryan grabbed eight rebounds, doled out a game-high seven assists, and blocked two shots despite missing her only two attempts of the game.
“Coach (Fennelly) said this may have been one of the most poor offensive nights for Iowa State, but when that’s not going your way, you’ve got to create opportunities elsewhere,” said Crooks, who added three blocks. “And I think we locked up defensively and that’s kind of how we won the game tonight.”
Fennelly said last season — given his team was so young and gifted offensively — he focused on playing with pace and piling up the points. That’s still a point of emphasis, but now that ISU’s more experienced, he and his staff have demanded better defense in practice and in games. The players have responded and are stronger on-ball defenders capable of forcing a lot of turnovers. The Cyclones made Indiana State cough the ball up 22 times on Thursday — and 13 of those takeaways came off steals.
“If we could average that, you start looking at numbers and in close games, that swings things,” Fennelly said. “So that was kind of the goal, and kind of the benchmark we put in our defense.”
ISU possesses too many skilled shooters to suffer through many offensive performances like Thursdays, but nearly everyone struggled to find the bottom of the net except for TCU transfer Sydney Harris, who sank her first four shots and scored 11 points.
“Coach (Fennelly) always says when your number’s called, be ready,” Harris said. “And I was able to do that.”
Formerly injured transfer forward Lilly Taulelei did the same, scoring two points in the final 2:40 in her first game as a Cyclone.
“She will impact our team somehow, some way,” Fennelly said. “She really will.”
As for Fennelly’s big number 30? That milestone season is just getting started and the goals are as lofty as ever.
“It’s very, very nice (to be honored),” Fennelly said. “(It’s) something that’s very humbling, but I’m honored to be a part of this place as long as I have.”
