Coach Bill Fennelly’s 2000 Cyclone women’s basketball team returns to action this season with a solid nucleus intact and 4 newcomers primed to make contributions in their own unique way.Highlighting the list of talented newcomers is 5-foot-7- inch redshirt freshman guard Erica Junod. Junod sat out last season after being diagnosed with mono prior to regular-season action. She played in one preseason game, tallying six points, three assists, one steal, and one rebound. Junod is a versatile player and Fennelly looks for her to be “a combo guard, playing the one and the two” positions for this year’s squad. Junod was named first-team all-state as a junior and as a senior by the Des Moines Register, and led her team to two state championships and one semifinal appearance while at Ankeny High School. She averaged 17.9 points and 6.3 assists as a senior, and was also a first-team all-state selection in softball and track the same year.Prior Lake, Minn., native freshman Kate Bauman will be counted upon early by Fennelly and his staff to fill the void left in the paint due to an injury to senior center Gintare Cipinyte. Baumann is listed at 6 feet 6 inches and touted as the tallest player in ISU women’s basketball history. This combination forward/center has “a lot of athletic ability”, according to Fennelly, and how fast she adjusts to Division I basketball will determine how much she plays this season. Baumann feels the biggest adjustment she is going to have to make entering her first season is “getting used to the speed of the Division I game and the strength of the other players down low.””I’m not going to be the biggest person all the time,” Baumann said. Regardless of that fact, Fennelly still feels that Bauman can bring an inside presence never before seen at Iowa State. “She covers up a lot of space in the lane, she has good timing, she’s almost 6’6” and has long arms, and just understands the game real well. We’ve never had a great shot blocker here, but hopefully she’ll turn into one.”Bauman’s high school basketball resume is just as impressive as Fennelly’s outlook for her as she was a two-time all-state selection and led Blake High School to four state tournaments, including two championships. She was a preseason All-American in basketball as a senior, and earned all-state track honors in addition to being all-conference five times and all-conference in volleyball three times.Another freshmen, Mindy Sywassink, will also look to contribute in the low-post. Sywassink is a walk-on from Muscatine, IA, “who grew up a big Cyclone fan,” Fennelly said. Sywassink was a very talented high school player who came to Ames for academic purposes. However, she’s not quite ready to give up on her basketball career. “I just really like the sport and I just want to play. I hope to maybe get some time on the court, but I’m just not ready to quit playing,”said Sywassink.Mary Cofield, a junior transfer from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA, is the fourth new addition to the Cyclone roster. Cofield will be forced to sit out this season due to NCAA rules, but will be a big help in practice as she was a second-team All-American while at St. Ambrose.”Everybody’s going to be involved, and we’ve always had good success with some young kids, and hopefully a couple of them will step up and make some plays for us,” Fennelly said.