AMES — Iowa State hosts Texas Tech in Ames on Tuesday night, looking for a similar result to the men’s game that took place in Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday.
The Cyclones are coming off a sweep of the Arizona schools, taking down the Sun Devils and Wildcats in the Grand Canyon State. The two wins were also the first two away wins of the season, building some confidence as they rose to 12-6 on the season.
Against Arizona State, the Cyclones had five players score in double figures, and they had four against Arizona. Before the trip, head coach Bill Fennelly discussed needing a fourth scorer and someone to step up. It is safe to say that multiple players stepped up in Arizona.
Sophomore guard Arianna Jackson had a season-high 16 points against Arizona State, while junior guard/forward Sydney Harris scored her season-high 24 points in the win over Arizona.
“Obviously, [Audi Crooks, Addy Brown, Emily Ryan] get a lot of attention, and when others get some, it’s kind of cool,” Fennelly said. “It was near the end of the game, and we had taken out most of them. [Harris] was still in there, wide open, the whole bench screamed, ‘why not’ and she made another one.”
Not only was it important for the Cyclones to get some help on the scoring end, but they shot well from deep while doing it. Jackson knocked down four threes on her big night, and Harris hit five. The team shot over 40% from deep in both games, significantly higher than the season’s 35% rate.
“I kind of have been kicking it out regardless if they go in or not, but I believe in them,” sophomore center Audi Crooks said. “Sometimes, you know, self-doubt, especially with the guards, can get to them a little bit. So it was good to see them winning out there.”
The two wins on the road were also big for Iowa State’s confidence after it had lost its first home game of the season against Utah and fell to 1-2 in Big 12 play. Heading into a game against Texas Tech, which has lost four straight games, the Cyclones are leaning heavily on the ‘nameless, faceless opponent.’
“I’ve been asked this before, is this… a must-win game? There’s only one must-win game, the game you got to win to keep your season going,” Fennelly said. “Now, obviously, if you’re trying to get into the tournament, I get all that stuff. But I think the nameless, faceless thing has always been good to us.”
Fennelly has used the phrase for years now, and it is no different for an Iowa State team still kind of searching for its identity.
“Coach Fennelly has been saying that since I first got here, but it basically means that no matter who the opponent is, you approach it the same way with the same mentality, the same work ethic,” Crooks said. “Regardless, you don’t try harder. If it’s team A or team B, you don’t care less if you think that you’re going to win.”
Texas Tech has 10 players that see the floor for at least 10 minutes a game, keeping legs fresh and consistently moving, something that the Cyclones have picked apart from the film.
“They’re a really good team. They have a lot of ball screens,” sophomore guard Kelsey Joens said. “Just guarding the ball screens correctly and communicating with each other on defense will be huge.”
Guards Jasmine Shavers and Bailey Maupin both average 14.3 points per game for the Red Raiders, two players that Joens could be matched up with defensively.
Joens has been an energizer bunny for Iowa State all season, and although it does not always show up on the box score, she is impacting the game by hustling for 50-50 balls, tracking down rebounds, or playing tough defense.
Iowa State aims for its third straight win and takes on Texas Tech in Hilton Coliseum at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night. The game will be live-streamed on ESPN+.
