Two hundred and forty-two minutes, or roughly six games of playing time, in the post is all the Cyclones’ women’s basketball team returns from the 2008–09 NCAA Elite Eight team.

The only post player returning to the lineup is senior Genesis Lightbourne, whose recent surgery will keep her out for the first four weeks of the season. This lack of experience in the post position means the team will have a heavy reliance on Iowa State’s returning guard players and hold high expectations for the freshman post players in the 2009–’10 season.

Even in his 15th year as Iowa State’s coach, this situation is something Bill Fennelly has never faced before.

“I don’t know that there is a program in the country, high school on up, that has 242 minutes of post play returning, and if you think about it that’s six games total, between Genesis Lightbourne, who hasn’t played much, and three freshman,” Fennelly said. “I’ve never experienced this before, I don’t know who has.”

The four experienced guards crucial to Iowa State’s success include senior Alison Lacey, junior Kelsey Bolte, senior Denae Stuckey and sophomore Whitney Williams.

“They have to play well. They know how to play well. They’ve been through this before if they play well and take some of the pressure off of our inside kids they’ll learn and they’ll be fine,” Fennelly said referring to the guards.

Lacey was chosen as a Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable mention pick and Fennelly said she, along with Bolte need to be post-season All Big 12 players. For Stuckey, her intensity on the court needs to remain, but the senior also has to ‘find a way to score.’

Williams’s job will be to become a ‘role player’ and someone who will likely fill some of former Cyclone Heather Ezell’s minutes.

With three gaping holes left by Nicky Wieben, Jocelyn Anderson and Amanda Nisleit from last season, the newcomers are constantly reminded of their value to the success of Iowa State this season. Freshmen Chelsea Poppens, Anna Prins and Amanda Zimmerman will be relied on to fill the spots three leaders left after their final season.

“It’s a good pressure it puts on us incoming freshmen, you know you have to step up and play in order to deserve your spot, so it’s a good pressure to know that you have a key role on the team and you have to step up and take place,” Poppens said.

Poppens, Prins and Zimmerman will be the key components of the Iowa State offense down low — simply because they are the only three that can play that position.

“They don’t have a choice, they have to play and I think that’s the most [difficult],” said Bolte. “They’re just going to have to take a hold and just learn as fast as they can on the fly because they aren’t going to be able to watch a play before they do it, they’re going to have to do it … just listen and do it, they can’t watch and do it.”

Although Lightbourne may be out for a portion of this season, the freshmen were still able to benefit from her knowledge during preseason preparations.

“[Lightbourne] has really helped us on that, so she’s told us a lot just to perform actually on the floor we’ll have to learn that ourselves,” Zimmerman said. “After the first couple games we’re just gonna have to learn quick and just go from that.”

And learning they are, even without Lightbourne in the rotation to show them the ropes, the two forwards and center have seen a significant amount of playing time in the team’s first two exhibition games and season opener. Poppens has scored double digits in all three games, and Prins posted a game-high 20 points in the game against Florida Atlantic,including three from beyond the arc. Zimmerman scored 14 points in her season opener but has since been sidelined due to an ankle injury.

Although the ‘brunt’ of the season falls on the guard play, without success in the post it will be difficult for the Cyclones to succeed in the 2009-10 season. While the beginning of the season the guards will be looked to, the freshmen will be expected to ‘not play like freshmen.’

“They pretty much tell us everyday, how big our role is this year,” Zimmerman said. “We just need to take it as a positive thing, I mean we get to play so we just need to look forward to that and make sure we are getting where we need to be.”

They may be freshmen, but they won’t have time to play like it. With Lightbourne out, the three post players are the Cyclones’ only hope in the paint.

“There’s a balance between ‘I’m a freshman and I’m not supposed to do things right’ with allowing yourself to learn through your mistakes,” Fennelly said.

The standard has been set, and the expectations high but this may be just what the freshmen need to boost their skills.

“The jump is a dramatic one, but the way I figure is they’re on a college scholarship and they need to play,” Fennelly said. “I’m looking for everything I can find of people who have no experience who have been successful.”

While the challenge is something Fennelly has never faced before, there are also other aspects he hasn’t seen before in the Cyclone program, some of which, are beneficial.

The height advantage Prins provides will give the Cyclones an edge in many contests.

A center at a towering height of six-foot-seven is new for the Cyclones, along with two post players, Zimmerman and Poppens, that can play both the four and five positions.

For Fennelly, taking on the challenge of a minimal amount of experience post play comes with three talented freshmen post players.