It’s a whole new ball game for Iowa State women’s basketball. Maybe not that dramatic, but the 2021-22 season will present new challenges but bring back familiar stars for the Cyclones.

Iowa State women’s basketball head coach Bill Fennelly discussed what he expects at the post position, returning star-power and the X-factors for the team going forward at media day on Wednesday at the Sukup Basketball Complex.

Fennelly mentioned that he likes where the team currently sits but has plans to tune things up before play begins at media day on Wednesday.

Committee of bigs

The Cyclones do not have too many question marks heading into the season, but one of the few is how the staff would approach the post position.

Beatriz Jordão, Morgan Kane, Izzi Zingaro and Maggie Vick are all names that were under consideration to receive minutes, and it appears that they will each have opportunities to earn the job.

“We have four post players on our team; we will be doing it by committee,” Fennely said. “All of our post players are behind for different reasons, injury, [Zingaro] was Team Canada, [Jordão] went home, had not been home in two and a half years, so we made her go home.”

After some deliberation, Fennelly came to the conclusion that if there was to be a game played right now, Kane would be the starter. This was certainly nothing official, as he listed the pros of other players including the experience of Jordão.

Fennelly is still looking to completely piece together a rotation, stating that he gets a little bit closer to figuring it out every day.

“You got to get to 200 minutes, and we’re about 72 minutes short right now. 40 of those minutes come from the five position,” Fennelly said. “So, if we had a game tonight I have no idea what we would do, I really don’t.”

Elite returning talent

Star players such as Ashley Joens, Lexi Donarski and Emily Ryan are back at Iowa State, giving both the team and the fans something to be excited about in 2021.

Fennelly believes that while the depth and post play will set the ceiling of this team, strong play from the stars will be necessary in order to establish a high floor.

“Those three have to play at the very, very high level, they know it, they understand it, they embrace it, they get it,” Fennelly said. “Those three are certainly going to be where this group starts, and how it finishes in the end will be about how they play and who comes with them.”

For the star that she is, Fennelly discussed that Ashley Joens still needs to work on some things, including limiting turnovers and ball handling. He partially took the blame for these issues, saying that the system may have gone through her a little too much, but Joens should also work to trust her teammates in her offseason work.

Fennelly moved on to the topic of Lexi Donarski, stating that despite the strong start to her career, she still has a ton of work to do in order to get to where they both believe that she can get.

“If being Big 12 Freshman of the Year is the highlight of her career, then she did not do her job and I did not do mine,” Fennelly said.

Breakout season?

Fennelly said that one of the players that could make major strides this year is the sister of Iowa State’s household name Joens, Aubrey Joens. She has impressed the coaches throughout practice so far with her three-point shooting.

“Aubrey is related to Ashley and that is about it probably. Her personality is different, her game is different, her view of the world is different. When we recruited her I remember someone called me and told me, ‘Why would you recruit her if all she can do is shoot?’ Give me 12 of them,” Fennelly joked.

Fennelly said that Aubrey Joens has been shooting at a very high level in practice, and it will translate to the games well. He also mentioned that with the three point line being moved back, shooters will be at a premium this season.