AMES – Iowa State looks to continue its strong start to the season by hosting St. Thomas at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
The No. 8 Cyclones are 3-0 and have won each game by 20 or more points, with the most recent win being a 28-point victory against Southern on Sunday.
Fifth-year senior guard Emily Ryan tallied her 800th career assist against Southern, giving herself an even larger buffer on her school-record assist number. Sophomore forward Addy Brown and sophomore center Audi Crooks both had high-scoring nights with 21 and 17 points, respectively.
In all three of the Cyclones’ games this season, they have seen some sort of zone defense, a look that a lot of Big 12 teams do not play and something the team has not seen a lot of prior to the season. In the game against Indiana State, Iowa State struggled to shoot the ball, but picked it up in the next game with nearly 40% shooting against Southern.
“All 12 [players] probably have the ability in some way, shape, or form to score,” Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said. “I mean, there’s not one of them that’s a defensive specialist or whatever.”
Fennelly has also continued to get everyone playing time, and it has stayed pretty even regardless of matchups or what specific players have done in previous games. It is less of a risk to do this when you have some of the talent that the Cyclones have.
“The good thing is you have to fit a role to play around [Ryan], [Brown] and [Crooks],” Fennelly said. “You don’t have to carry the team. You just gotta be really solid and be effective in your role that night.”
The Tommies have found success early this season as well, going 3-0 to start the year, including a 99-33 win against Division III team Crown College. Senior guard Jade Hill leads the Tommies, averaging just above 21 points a game.
The Cyclones will lean on the strong play from Brown and Crooks once again to keep them in control against a St. Thomas team that forces a lot of turnovers and limits its own turnovers. The Tommies average 11 per game while they force 22 from their opponents.
Iowa State hopes to build off the stronger shooting performance against Southern into the fourth straight home game. The Cyclones have hit around 33% of their 3’s to start the year and are shooting just above 42% from the field.
“Coach Fennelly always says, especially this year, how much attention [Crooks is] gonna get,” sophomore guard Arianna Jackson said. “Shooters have your feet set and be ready to let it fly. Just knowing we’re able to do that and that he has the trust and confidence in us to do that, I think it’s really cool.”
TCU transfer guard/forward Sydney Harris has been very efficient from the field to start the year, shooting 61% overall and over 55% from 3-point range while averaging just above 10 points per game.
Oregon State transfer guard Lily Hansford, who was a high-percentage shooter for the Beavers a year ago, has yet to hit one this year on nine attempts, but she continues to shoot.
“With us, it’s a lot of unpredictability,” Ryan said. “You look at it through the lens of who we’re playing, they don’t know who to expect either. The fun part is everyone embraces that and everyone wants everyone to have their own night.”
The Cyclones take on the Tommies in their final game of the four-game home stretch to start the year at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
