The ISU women’s basketball team will travel to Norman, Okla., this weekend, but it may be without its best player. 

ISU coach Bill Fennelly said Thursday that ISU guard Seanna Johnson wasn’t with the team and would be “shocked” if she traveled with the team this weekend for a Saturday matchup against No. 23 Oklahoma. 

Johnson is currently in Minnesota with her father, who suffered a stroke over the weekend. Fennelly said the family is awaiting tests at the hospital.

Johnson didn’t play Wednesday night in Iowa State’s 68-53 loss to Kansas State.

“She talked about driving back down for the game last night and driving back, just trying to figure out ways,” Fennelly said. “I just told her, ‘No, you’re not going. You need to stick with your family and when you’re comfortable and your mom’s comfortable and, most importantly, your dad’s in a better place, then you can come back.'”

As for the rest of the season, Fennelly is more worried about Johnson’s academics rather than missing the last two games of the regular season.

“When I was talking about and texting with her about today, it was making sure [Johnson’s] taken care of academically,” Fennelly said. “If she gets back before the end of the season, great. If not, that’s the way it’s going to be.”

Johnson’s absence hurts the team more than just her team-leading 16.5 points, 9.2 rebounds and 35.6 minutes per game being off the court. It also forces Fennelly to make adjustments in practice. 

The team has struggled to get bodies on the court all season, but Johnson is one more that is unavailable. Because of that, Fennelly is going back to the basics. 

“Our scouting report [and] our game plan has been — I don’t know what vanilla lite is,” Fennelly joked. “That’s kind of what we’re like right now. We’re just trying to make this as simple and easy as possible. If you give them too much, it’s ridiculous. It’s too much and they can’t absorb it, and they shouldn’t.”

In addition to the changes in practice, it forces Fennelly to find someone who can replace Johnson’s minutes on the court, let alone her elite production.  

Sophomore guard Emily Durr started in Johnson’s place against Kansas State. She played 33 minutes and put up 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Fennelly said Durr could “barely walk off the court” after drawing her first ISU career start. 

Reserve guard and walk-on Lexi Albrecht also played 14 minutes — the most in her collegiate career.

Although Durr struggled to shoot efficiently, she almost filled the 35.6-minutes-per-game void the team faced without Johnson. 

“It was a good experience,” Durr said. “With Seanna gone, it’s hard to fill those shoes. She’s such a good player. But I finally got the start. It helped my confidence just knowing I was in there at the beginning of the game and not coming off the bench. At the same time, I wanted to do a little better.”

Durr wants to improve her physicality this weekend, including rebounding and winning 50/50 balls. 

Whatever happens with Johnson and her replacement is a microcosm for the team’s season. The Cyclones have dealt with adversity on and off the court that they haven’t dealt with before.

“We’ve never really had a situation during the season,” Fennelly said. “This isn’t in the coaching book. You just try to make everyone as comfortable as you can. It’s hard because you’ve still got to do your job. The kids have to play on Saturday.

“The kids have to do what they have to do. You can’t just stop and just take a week off and come back together next week.”