AMES – Following a lopsided 82-62 loss against No. 20 West Virginia, the Cyclones take a break from the road by facing BYU back home Wednesday.
With a loss that held willpower, Iowa State had many obstacles when facing the Mountaineers, such as a 3-point shooting drought, where the team made 30% of its shots, going 6-for-20 from behind the arc.
Despite the minimal shooting averages, along with the 50% success rate from field goal range, the Cyclones had many opportunities. However, one of the biggest factors that put Iowa State into a slump was senior guard Emily Ryan, who was out for the game due to illness.
“Having a point guard that has played in this league for five years is huge regardless of what they produce,” junior guard/forward Sydney Harris said. “But obviously she does produce a lot for us, so it was definitely hard without her.”
“It obviously showed that we needed her calming presence against West Virginia, we kinda got sped up pretty easily and she definitely would have helped with some of that,” sophomore forward Addy Brown said.
With Ryan being a huge reliant for the Cyclones, many others had to fill in her spot, which became beneficial as many bench players had a highlight game against the Mountaineers and contributed 14 points from their starting position on the sideline.
“If you were going to play West Virginia at West Virginia and 60 minutes are going to come from your freshmen, that probably would have been a stunning comment,” Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said. “But they were both really good and I thought Alisa Williams was really good, one of her better games.”
Despite having limited minutes this season, Ryan still holds value as she averages 6.4 assists per game, 4.2 rebounds and 9.6 points per game. The status of Ryan’s presence on the court against BYU is still uncertain, but the time without her is proving beneficial for future adjustments for the Cyclones in upcoming seasons.
“At the end of the day you gotta look and take it into perspective that she’s not going to be here next year,” Brown said. “So we kinda got to get used to playing without her, which sucks but that’s just how it goes.”
With the Cyclones known for rebounding strongly after a loss, expectations will be high as they aim to defend their home court, holding a 13-7 overall record.
“We think we can beat anyone here, it doesn’t matter who you are,” Brown said. “You are coming into here and we are going to protect our home court.”
A highlight during the Cyclones’ loss was their strong ability to adjust and breakthrough pressure, a skill that will be needed in the upcoming week as BYU maintains a solid defensive pattern, averaging 7.5 steals and 3.7 blocks per game.
“The biggest thing when you play against a pressing team that we have tried to instill in our players is you have to be really good offensively as far as making shots and that helps your transition defense,” Fennelly said.
Defensively and offensively, the biggest obstacles for the Cyclones to overcome are freshman guard Delaney Gibb, senior forward Emma Calvert and sophomore guard Amari Whiting.
Those three players lead the Cougars in many aspects on the court, with Whiting holding a team-high 35 blocks. Calvert and Gibb hold a combined total of 508 points, both leading the team with a similar 50% field goal shooting average.
Despite the different challenges that are present, the Cyclones are still determined with their home-court advantage and their ability to win.
“Our fanbase is insane, playing at home,” Harris said. “We lost one, so I don’t think we want to have that happen again, so I think we are just even more determined to play even better at home.”
Iowa State will face BYU at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Hilton Coliseum. The game will be live-streamed on ESPN+.
