After Iowa State dropped its Big 12 Tournament opener against Texas Tech on March 4, ISU coach Bill Fennelly could only reflect on his season in one word. 

Disappointing. 

The Cyclones finished their season with a 13-17 record — Fennelly’s second losing season in his 21 years at Iowa State — and bowed out of the Big 12 Tournament in the first round. 

Iowa State wasn’t playing under the best of circumstances, though. The season was mired in injuries, personal issues and the exit of starting forward Bryanna Fernstrom in January. But that doesn’t mean the team used those circumstances as an excuse. 

“We’re never going to make excuses,” Fennelly said. “We had kids that could have played better.”

Even though the season looked like a loss on paper, there were some positives that shined through the darkness. 

Fennelly continuously praised his coaching staff at the end of the season, and that sentiment rang with the players as well. 

“They bust their butt,” said graduating senior Kidd Blaskowsky. “They’re always here and doing something as well. That really let you know that they haven’t given up on us.” 

When players practiced at the Sukup Basketball Complex on the weekends, the lights in the coaching offices above the court were still on. The coaches were hard at work. Fennelly even said it was the hardest working staff he had ever been a part of.

“It was about what can we do as coaches to make this situation better and take the focus off of trying to win every game when we’re obviously not in a position to do that,” Fennelly said. “It’s hard.” 

The coaching staff’s support was necessary. Blaskowsky was one of the players who undoubtedly questioned why the season was trending downward, and quickly, as the team lost nine of 10 games in one stretch of the season.

“I questioned a lot: ‘What am I doing? Why is this happening to us?'” Blaskowsky said. “When you look at it, coach Fennelly puts everything not in a basketball context. We’re just as normal as other people except every once in a while we get into a jersey and play a basketball game.” 

Although this season didn’t go the right way for the Cyclones, next season brings with it a rejuvenating positive influence. The Cyclones will bring back three freshman, one of whom — Bridget Carleton — was on the All-Freshman team in the Big 12. 

Guard TeeTee Starks will return from her season-ending knee surgery, and forward Meredith Burkhall will come back with more experience as a Big 12 post player. 

But the positivity for next season transcends on-the-court skills. The up-and-down year also prepares the team mentally. Also, the team developed relationships that will carry over into the fall. 

“It was a very cohesive team,” Fennelly said. “They all liked each other and I thought it was a team that got along maybe as well as any team we’ve had in a long time.” 

The offseason will prove crucial for the Cyclones. After a season of disappointment, the team will have the desire to improve, but Fennelly said it’s about “what do you say versus what do you do.” 

No matter what, the team will try to move on but keep a small part of the bitter taste in its mouth from the season. 

“This is a huge season as a whole for us to learn from,” said guard Jadda Buckley. “We obviously need to move on, but there’s a lot to learn from in the games and practices that we can change and learn from.”