After making the journey all the way from the capital city of Australia, Alison Lacey is making quite an impact on the ISU women’s basketball team.

Lacey, a native of Canberra, Australia, has worked her way into the starting lineup as only a freshman and is playing significant minutes for the Cyclones (19-7, 7-6 Big 12).

“I just try to practice hard and make myself known. Coach [Bill] Fennelly gave me the opportunity to start and I took it running,” Lacey said. “I really want to contribute and make myself a valuable member of the team.”

Lacey, who started the season off the bench, has started 10 of the 13 conference games the Cyclones have played, and will most likely continue to start as the team makes a run at postseason play.

“Late in the season, when you’re trying to get into the tournament and you have a freshman playing 34 minutes, that’s telling people she’s pretty important,” Fennelly said.

Lacey, who came to the United States as a foreign exchange student, was recruited to Iowa State after leading Ballard to a 26-1 record last year while earning all-state first team honors.

Fennelly said Lacey has progressed rapidly during her freshman season and he has high hopes she can continue to get better.

“I’ve told ‘Aus’ from day one, when her effort matches her skill sets, she’s going to be scary good. Scary good,” Fennelly said. “She’s a fun kid to coach, and she’s brought a lot of not just talent to our team, but personality to our team and it’s been fun to have her.”

Lacey said her relationship with Fennelly is one she values greatly, and looks forward to playing for him in the years to come.

“He’s a great coach; pretty much the best coach I’ve ever had,” Lacey said. “We have a great relationship and we have three more years to build on it.”

As a youth player in Australia, Lacey described the basketball scene as completely different from the intensity and pace that is Big 12 women’s basketball.

“It’s completely different. We didn’t have any college [basketball] system [in Australia] at all, so it’s pretty much you play for your club sport and go straight into professionals if you’re good enough,” Lacey said. “It’s definitely a different pace here, and different three-point line – it’s just pretty much a whole new world here in college.”

Lacey added that one of her favorite parts of being a Cyclone is getting the opportunity to play in front of the fans at Hilton Coliseum.

“It’s so much fun with the fans, and the coaches, and we have great seniors,” Lacey said. “Especially out on the court, we have so much fun together.”

She said she also enjoys being with her teammates off the court, whether they are just hanging out or on a road trip.

“We have so much fun together,” she said.

“Aus,” as her teammates and coaches call her, has a strong Australian accent, which begs the question: Do her teammates ever pick on her for having an accent?

“Oh my gosh, when is there not a day that they give me crap [about my accent],” Lacey laughed.