- Mar 23, 2006
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Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly is a master at pulling rabbits out of hats. Even when his teams don’t have the most talent, they have won a lot of games. That’s thanks to his X’s and O’s skills and motivational ability.But the “magician†may have a hard time finding another card up his sleeve these days. The Cyclones lost coach-on-the-floor Lyndsey Medders and forward Megan Ronhovde to graduation. No Big 12 team relied more on its point guard last year than Iowa State did with Medders, and Ronhovde had a very solid senior year, too.
Further, injuries now have taken away two returning starters from a team that made the Big 12 title game last year. Forwards Toccara Ross and Nicky Wieben are each out with season-ending knee injuries.
So sophomore guard Alison Lacey is the only 2006-2007 starter still on the floor for the Cyclones, who face league co-leader Kansas State at 7 tonight in Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State coach Deb Patterson praised Fennelly’s system of three-point shooting and “junk†defenses as being so consistently successful that even losing players to injuries doesn’t stop the Cyclones.
But she knows that the recent loss of Wieben was a real kick in the gut for Iowa State, which beat K-State three times last season.
Meanwhile, Fennelly said in Tuesday’s Big 12 teleconference that he and his players just have to keep their heads up. And he thinks K-State has a chance to win the league title, especially with the senior leadership shown by guard Kimberly Dietz. She tops the Wildcats in scoring at 14.4 points per game.
“She may be the most ‘unknown’ good player in our league,†Fennelly said. “All she does is find ways to win games.â€
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Player spotlightIowa State freshman guard Kelsey Bolte, a native of Ida Grove, Iowa, was selected Big 12 rookie of the week Monday for the second week in a row. The Cyclones’ injury woes have made her all the more important to the team.
Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly is a master at pulling rabbits out of hats. Even when his teams don’t have the most talent, they have won a lot of games. That’s thanks to his X’s and O’s skills and motivational ability.But the “magician†may have a hard time finding another card up his sleeve these days. The Cyclones lost coach-on-the-floor Lyndsey Medders and forward Megan Ronhovde to graduation. No Big 12 team relied more on its point guard last year than Iowa State did with Medders, and Ronhovde had a very solid senior year, too.
Further, injuries now have taken away two returning starters from a team that made the Big 12 title game last year. Forwards Toccara Ross and Nicky Wieben are each out with season-ending knee injuries.
So sophomore guard Alison Lacey is the only 2006-2007 starter still on the floor for the Cyclones, who face league co-leader Kansas State at 7 tonight in Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State coach Deb Patterson praised Fennelly’s system of three-point shooting and “junk†defenses as being so consistently successful that even losing players to injuries doesn’t stop the Cyclones.
But she knows that the recent loss of Wieben was a real kick in the gut for Iowa State, which beat K-State three times last season.
Meanwhile, Fennelly said in Tuesday’s Big 12 teleconference that he and his players just have to keep their heads up. And he thinks K-State has a chance to win the league title, especially with the senior leadership shown by guard Kimberly Dietz. She tops the Wildcats in scoring at 14.4 points per game.
“She may be the most ‘unknown’ good player in our league,†Fennelly said. “All she does is find ways to win games.â€
...................................
Player spotlightIowa State freshman guard Kelsey Bolte, a native of Ida Grove, Iowa, was selected Big 12 rookie of the week Monday for the second week in a row. The Cyclones’ injury woes have made her all the more important to the team.
? She started 16 games last season. Alison started 21.
