In Bill Fennelly’s 28 seasons as a head coach — seven with Toledo, 21 with Iowa State — he has never had a season as tough as 2015-16. 

After the ISU women’s basketball team started the season with a 10-3 record, it dropped eight of nine games in the heart of Big 12 play to run its record near the .500 mark. Now, with three games left in the season, the team stands 13-13. 

Fennelly has only had one losing season between his time at Toledo and Iowa State. In the 2002-03 season, the Cyclones went 12-16. 

“[This season has been the] toughest, probably,” Fennelly said. “Losing wears on you. I’m a very bad loser. You feel like you let people down. I don’t like that feeling. It’s one that probably is the worst for me, is that you let your fans down, you let your family down [when] you’re losing.”

Although the team has struggled this season, some of it has been outside of the team’s control. 

The Cyclones were starting three freshmen before guard TeeTee Starks had knee surgery in December. She was just one extreme on a long list of injuries the team faced over the season. Guards Seanna Johnson, Jadda Buckley, Bridget Carleton and Emily Durr are all dealing with nagging injuries. 

There has been personal adversity as well. Reserve guard Lexi Albrecht’s sister passed away in December after a long battle with cancer. Most recently, Johnson’s father was hospitalized over the weekend after suffering a stroke. 

And on the court, the team has one senior, Kidd Blaskowsky, in the starting lineup — two overall —  and is led by a point guard, Buckley, who started seven games last season because of a stress fracture in her foot.

“An injury and an infection and we knew going in there were going to be struggles [this season],” Fennelly said. “We knew we had some limitations playing young players and a point guard that didn’t play last year. That’s just something that we knew we were going to have. This is still bad, and I’m not speaking for anyone else.”

And the season won’t get any easier as Iowa State (13-13, 5-10 Big 12) prepares for Kansas State (17-9, 7-8 Big 12) on Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum. 

In the first matchup of the season, on Dec. 30, the Cyclones defeated the Wildcats for their seventh victory in eight games at the time. But in this showdown, Iowa State stumbles in, losing 10 of its last 13 games. 

“It’s a lot different,” Fennelly said. “It’s certainly changed. We’re not in the same position. I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Well, it’s just another game.’ It’s a lot different. We look at things a [lot] differently now than we did. But that’s life.” 

Kansas State also served as Iowa State’s conference opener. After Iowa State emerged victorious, it beat Oklahoma State a few days later, garnering two votes in the AP Top 25, the team’s only two votes all season.

After the successful start, the Cyclones plummeted. 

But even in the midst of one of the team’s roughest seasons, there is something that keeps the players motivated: their bond with one another. 

“Just being around each other and going through the hard times and the good times with each other,” Blaskowsky said. “Knowing that we have each other’s backs and it’s a team sport.

“It’s not one person or the other, it’s all of us. I think we all take responsibility with what has happened this season. And being there for each other has really motivated us and kept us going.”