AMES – The Iowa State women’s basketball team faces challenges as injuries take a toll on key players, with the end of the season fast approaching.
With five more games left before the Big 12 Tournament arrives, the Cyclones are in crunch time to get all their players healthy to have a strong performance when heading to Kansas City. A week break came at a pivotal time for the team to get healthy before the final stretch of the season.
“I think it came at a really good time for us,” senior guard Emily Ryan said. “Just to get a little break, a week that we could gather, regroup and have one more big push to the end of the season and once we get to postseason we figure it out from there.”
Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said the team desperately needed the break, with many players on the injury list and not playing. Coming off a dominating 86-56 win against Colorado, the Cyclones needed a mental and physical break to end the season strong.
“We desperately needed it,” Fennelly said. “[Arianna Jackson] hasn’t done anything, Emily Ryan hasn’t done anything up to this point since the game. We gave Audi [Crooks] some extra time off.”
As one of the most consistent and essential players in the Cyclones roster, Ryan has already been limiting her minutes this season. However, with a now protruding ankle injury from the previous Cincinnati game, the upcoming performances on the court may decline as the Cyclones’ team leader cannot guide them on the hardwood.
“I was very scared because when that kid goes down and she comes off the court with tears in her eyes, you’re worried,” Fennelly said. “Some kids react to injuries differently, but that kid is as tough as anyone I have ever been around, so you knew she was hurting and when she admits she is hurt, then you know.”
Ryan has made a strong comeback after missing the first nine games of the 2023-24 season due to an injury. This season, she has played in 26 games and has become a regular starter, a significant improvement compared to last season, where she was limited to being a part of the starting lineup for 16 games.
“I think it was just a credit to our athletic training staff,” Ryan said. “They were able to get me going and get me to a spot where I was able to play, and credit to them.”
“She’s spent a lot of time in the training room,” Fennelly said. “She’s doing everything she can to get better.”
Ryan is a strong factor in the success of the Cyclones’ 17-9 overall record, leading the team in assists with 160 this season and averaging 6.4 assists per game.
Joining Ryan on the injury list is Jackson, who has a foot injury just after gaining strong momentum within her shooting.
Finding more reliability in her defensive guarding, Jackson has become one of the Cyclones’ top defenders, taking on the most difficult players each game. Her aggressiveness has earned her a team-high of 53 personal fouls.
However, Jackson has become a consistent shooter from the 3-point line, with the past two games against Colorado and Cincinnati counted as her season-high markers for her offensive success.
Against Cincinnati, Jackson made a season-high 17 points after going 4-for-8 from deep. Continuing her stardom against Colorado, Jackson once again made four 3-pointers.
These two newly injured players join the list of casualties this season. They accompany junior guard Kenzie Hare, who has played 10 games this season as a new Cyclone before deciding to be medically redshirted due to an ongoing hip injury for the rest of the season.
However, while the players are off the court and resting during practice, they have still been leaders off the court, coaching on the sidelines when available and helping prepare the team for the upcoming games.
“They obviously just haven’t really been as much on the court, but they are still off the court coaching and staying involved when they can, which is nice,” freshman guard Reagan Wilson said.
As the players riddled with injuries have been spending their time in the training room and coaching from the sidelines, Fennelly is confident about the upcoming game against Kansas on Saturday and is grateful for the week-long break, coming at a much-needed time.
“If we had a game tonight, I don’t know, but we don’t play till Saturday,” Fennelly said. “Everyone’s sore and banged up, it’s just Emily’s [Ryan] ankles, and [Arianna Jackson] has a foot thing that we need to manage as best we can. So I do think the break came momentum-wise I don’t know, but health-wise it could not have come at a better time.”
