Following an impressive showing of resiliency by Iowa State in its win over BYU in Provo, Utah, the Cyclones now prepare to potentially host their toughest pair of games this season, which starts with hosting No. 24 West Virginia Wednesday.
In Iowa State’s win over BYU, the team had its biggest offensive performance during conference play as it scored 80 points, 50 of which came from the second half alone.
Forward Addy Brown continued to show why she has been one of the best freshmen in the nation as she led the team with 24 points, which tied her career high.
Head coach Bill Fennelly is coming off his 600th career win as the head coach of Iowa State, as he helps prepare his team for a battle against the second-ranked opponent his team has hosted this season.
“For us, it’s getting back home and be understanding of the style [of play] that we’re gonna face,” Fennelly said. “We’re gonna see a style that we don’t fit very well, so we gotta have more of a mental toughness than we’ve had or needed to have in some other games because of what we’re going to face.”
The Mountaineers suffered their first loss of the season Saturday to No. 10 Texas at home, but it has not discredited what they have accomplished this season.
West Virginia was previously undefeated heading into its home game versus the Longhorns with a 13-0 record as they clobbered opponents both offensively and defensively. The Mountaineers are in the top three in the Big 12 for scoring (79.4) points allowed (54.9).
A key part of West Virginia’s success has come from guard JJ Quinerly, who is averaging 18.6 points per game which is the fifth-best in the Big 12.
Fennelly will need to use his best guard defenders against a player like Quinerly, which could include having point guards Emily Ryan and Arianna Jackson on the floor at the same time.
“If we can get to a point where it’s something we need, I feel very comfortable doing it,” Fennelly said. “We literally had not practiced it at all before Oklahoma State, but when we threw them both out there it worked really well.”
Both Ryan and Jackson have made significant impacts on Iowa State’s undefeated conference record. For Ryan, she has been a key piece of the Cyclone bench in every facet, while Jackson has found her shooting stroke with her career-high 17-point performance versus BYU.
The current history of these two schools remains knotted up at 11 a piece, with West Virginia ending the five-game winning streak that Iowa State had over the Mountaineers during the 2022-23 season.
Iowa State will look to regain the lead and start a new winning streak against West Virginia as the Cyclones will host the No. 24 Mountaineers at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum. The game will also be streamed on ESPN+.
