As Stacy Frese was writhing on the floor of Carver-Hawkeye Arena in pain, a certain sense of panic was in the air among Cyclone followers.

After all, this was the same Frese who was now the unquestioned team leader, the one who played all 40 minutes in tight games, the glue that held the Cyclones together.

Upon further review, however, the injury that left Frese sidelined for five games may have ended up helping the Cyclones.

The emergence of sophomore Erica Haugen has turned into one of the best stories of the year in a team full of them.

Haugen stepped up and without hesitation took the reins of the team from Frese, and led the club to a 4-1 record in the absence of last season’s Big 12 newcomer of the year. The lone loss came against Louisiana Tech, who was ranked number two in the country at the time.

“I think that even though we missed Stacy, it helped me because it made me go in and play the point, and being the point guard you have to run the show,” Haugen said.

The mentality of the team becoming her’s to run has helped Haugen, according to her backcourt mate.

“The whole thing with Erica is confidence. It’s gotten a lot higher, and so she’s playing a lot better. She’s a great player, and I knew she could handle it when I went down,” Frese said.

With the recent injury to freshman Tracy Gahan, Haugen has been starting at the shooting guard spot, and this backcourt combination gives opponents something to think about.

“Stacy is a great passer, a great shooter, she’s just a really great player. It helps to have two point guards on the floor because we can both handle the ball, and we feel comfortable with each other,” Haugen said.

Frese is also grateful to have another player she knows she can count on.

“It’s good that either one of us can take an outlet pass and just run. It helps us with the up tempo game. Also she can play point sometimes too, and that helps to give me a little breather especially if the other team is pressing,” she said.

Coach Bill Fennelly has no reservations about the impact that Haugen has had on the team.

“I think she has played great. This team would not be 11-1 without Erica Haugen,” Fennelly said.

The charismatic coach believes that Haugen, who set a carrer-high with 11 assists against Sam Houston State, possesses a quality instrumental to the success of any team.

“She doesn’t make a lot of shots, but the shots she makes are always big. She might have hit the two biggest shots of our season against Texas, and she hit two big shots against Kansas,” Fennelly said.

As far as what will happen when Gahan returns to 100 percent from her injury, Fennelly is unsure what the lineup will look like.

“We haven’t really talked about it all that much. We’ve obviously played really well since Erica started for Tracy. We’ve won four games in a row, we’re 3-0 in the conference, so we’ll see what happens,” Fennelly said.

As far as the rest of the season goes, the Osseo, Minnesota native is careful not to look too far ahead in the tough Big 12.

“We just have to take it one game at a time. I don’t think there is anybody on the schedule we can’t beat, we just can’t beat ourselves,” Haugen said.

That’s not to say that she doesn’t have goals as she looks ahead.

“One of my big goals for this year is for our team to make it to the Sweet Sixteen. I think we’re capable of that,” she said.

If she continues her solid play, and if her teammates continue to play the way they are capable, the Sweet Sixteen may be a modest goal.