The Iowa State women’s basketball team opened up the 2023-24 season with a promising win over Butler.
Nyamer Diew was back in the starting line-up for the season opener, but Emily Ryan was still absent and could remain that way for a while. Many transfer players for the Cyclones have quickly become leaders for this young team featuring five freshmen.
Senior transfer Hannah Belanger has been one that has been trying to balance the adjustment to a new school and system while trying to help her younger teammates.
“I’m trying to be that calm and experienced player on the floor, especially with Emily being out and some iffy things with [Diew], but just trying to be that calm, experienced [player] for the freshmen,” Belanger said.
Belanger finished with six points and played 23 minutes in her Iowa State debut.
“This is her fifth year in college, and as we all know, life experience matters. It’s not just basketball experience, it’s dealing with all things that go with preparing for games,” head coach Bill Fennelly said about Belanger. “She’s a very mature kid. She’s a brilliant student, so she gets it. I think the challenge for her, obviously, is that she’s only got one shot at this.”
The experience Belanger has helped out the team on the court and off.
Freshman Jalynn Bristow has embraced being a part of this freshman class. Bristow had six points and grabbed five rebounds in her first college game.
“When we had our official visit, we all got here at the same time. All of us girls got really close, you know, just talk on the phone together, group calls, schedule our classes together, so we had a really strong bond before we had even gotten here,” Bristow said.
Fennelly knows the freshmen have had to adapt to the level of play from high school to college. Fennelly also sees the potential in each of the freshmen on the team.
“What we’re trying to do is teach them you can’t be defined by the shots that you make. You can still rebound, you can defend, you can screen. There’s so many ways to impact the game,” Fennelly said. “They understand the importance they have on our team. They understand the minutes they’re going to play. So far I think it’s been really good.”
Iowa State will have its first road game of the season at 2 p.m. Sunday against Drake. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
