The ISU women’s basketball team faces quite a rebuilding effort when it kicks off the 2005-06 campaign.

Coach Bill Fennelly has been dealt a challenging hand with five freshmen newcomers on the 12-player roster.

“We lost five of the best seniors I’ve ever been around,” Fennelly said. “This program took a big hit losing the seniors that it did. We’re going to play a lot of people trying to fill that void.”

With nearly half of the roster true freshmen, the team will have to grow up in a hurry.

“I hope that the people that wear our uniform understand what the obligation is – I don’t care if you’re a freshman or not,” he said. “I hope the fans get what they’re used to seeing in a team that plays hard and plays right.”

Fennelly said he expects freshman Rachel Pierson to start for the Cyclones, and also said fellow freshman Heather Ezell would have started until she fell ill and battled a staph infection.

Ezell said she knew she would have a chance to be in the mix, but the sickness has pushed her out for now.

“It puts me out of basketball for a couple weeks; plus, I was in the hospital, so I wasn’t able to eat very much, so I was weak when I got out,” Ezell said.

“I didn’t expect [to start right away]. I knew the opportunity was there and I knew that if I worked hard I would have a chance.”

The other expected freshman starter is Pierson, a St. Louis native who went to Incarnate Word Academy, and stands 6 feet 3 inches tall. Fennelly said he expects her presence down low to give the Cyclones a true force in the post for the first time in a while.

Pierson said she knows expectations will be high and she is ready for the challenge that has been laid out for her.

“There’s a lot of things that I need to improve on,” Pierson said. “I’m not really used to playing with guards [like we have], but I think I can really contribute down low.

“The physical aspect of the game is what I love most, so hopefully I’ll be able to contribute and not get in foul trouble.”

Fennelly said he knows the large influx of young players will make for interesting situations throughout the season but said the girls should be able to grow into their roles.

“There’s no question that [incoming freshmen] are better prepared now than they were 10 years ago,” Fennelly said. “They’ve played against great people and they’ve done it all already.

“As for our group specifically, it’s a competitive group. They know they’re good and they want to be good.”

Fennelly said the youth on the team has already provided a few funny moments in workouts.

“One of the kids came up and said, ‘Coach, where’s the locker room?’ So we are literally starting from scratch.”

Nicky Wieben, a four-time state champion out of Ankeny, Gillian Bjerke of Pelican Rapids, Minn., and Amansa Nisleit from Woodbury, Minn., are the other three freshmen expected to contribute for Iowa State this year.