Head coach Bill Fennelly and the Iowa State women’s basketball team (15-5, 3-5 Big 12) welcome Arizona (10-8, 1-6 Big 12) to Ames on Saturday. The Wildcats will face more than just the frigid temperatures outside of Hilton Coliseum when they go up against a determined Cyclones squad.
The Cyclones come into this matchup off a big 93-68 win over Cincinnati on Wednesday. After a game that featured a stellar 44-point performance from junior guard Jada Williams, Iowa State is looking to get back on track.
Arizona comes into the match off an 80-69 conference loss to Kansas at home. Three different Wildcats had double-point games with graduate student guard Lani Cornfield recording a 12-point, 10-assist double-double.
The Wildcats are on a three-game losing streak; their last win was a marginal 75-72 win over BYU on Jan. 6.
Iowa State will still be without junior guard Addy Brown, who is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. The Wildcats are missing graduate student guard Mickayla Perdue and redshirt junior forward Montaya Dew.
“Hopefully we continue to do the things we’ve been doing,” Fennelly said. “I think staying at home will help us a little bit so we don’t have to travel right away.”
This will be the first time the Cyclones have hosted the Wildcats since the 1988-89 season. Iowa State played at Arizona’s home court for the first time last season, picking up a 79-58 victory.
This year will look a little different for both teams, seeing as a key contributor to the Wildcats’ last season is now a starting player for the Cyclones. Williams led Arizona in points per game and was second in three-pointers made en route to their 19-14 season.
Williams has been a huge asset to the Cyclones this season, highlighted by a career-high game against the Bearcats.
“Now we only have five games left at Hilton,” Fennelly said. “That will be the message to our players for the rest of the season, consistently for the rest of this season.”
“I’ve gotten plenty of texts and calls from former players and the message is always the same: make sure they appreciate playing at Hilton,” Fennelly said.
The game can be streamed on Fox Sports, with tipoff at 3:00 pm.
