Another season is set to begin Friday for ISU women’s basketball, and, despite all the hype surrounding the freshman class, ISU coach Bill Fennelly will be relying on his veterans to lead the team.

Iowa State will kick off the regular season against Hampton, trying to claim its 21st opening-game victory in a row under Fennelly. The Pirates finished with a 19-13 record last season, falling to West Virginia in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament to conclude their season.

In Iowa State’s opening two exhibition games, freshmen Meredith Burkhall and Bridget Carleton accounted for more than 30 percent of the team’s total points and have each earned a spot in the starting lineup.

Despite this production from the younger players on the team, Fennelly is still relying on his experienced players to lead the team into the regular season. After all, they have been there before.

“We’ll rely on [junior Seanna Johnson] a lot,” Fennelly said. “We have to keep her healthy. I think her and Jadda [Buckley] are probably in the exact same boat. They’re All-Big 12 caliber players, but you’re only an All-Big 12 caliber player if you’re playing.”

As Fennelly mentioned, both Johnson and Buckley dealt with injuries during the past year. Johnson suffered a knee injury during the offseason that limited her minutes in the exhibition games, and Buckley was sidelined the majority of last season due to a stress fracture in her foot.

Both players are now healthy and ready to take the floor. Fennelly is relying on the duo not only to produce on the court but to lead the younger players in the locker room as well.

“I’d say I [bring] leadership on and off the court,” Johnson said. “I think the freshmen look up to me a lot. They talk to me, they ask me questions. And I feel like if I’m able to vocally tell them what they need to do, they buy into it.”

Johnson and Buckley have a combined six years in the ISU women’s basketball program, and they are prepared to relay the knowledge they’ve gained to these freshmen, as they were in the same place three years before.

Buckley and Johnson’s experiences were most similar to those of Burkhall and Carelton, who are ready to make an immediate impact as freshmen. 

Given Buckley’s experience on and off the court with her season-ending injury last year, she has learned to maintain an attitude of positivity and consistency. She hopes to lead in that way this season, maintaining a steady, upbeat attitude regardless of the team’s circumstances.

“There’s obviously going to be ups and downs throughout the season,” Buckley said. “I just think it’s about being positive and learning how to [help] the folks out of a situation such as that.”

In order to begin the season on the right foot, Fennelly mentioned two main points of emphasis concerning Iowa State’s upcoming opponent: limiting turnovers and shutting down sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas.

Hampton finished third in the NCAA last season with a 7.97 average turnover margin per game, and, as for Tate-DeFreitas, she averaged 21.3 points and 3.0 steals per game.

Fortunately for Fennelly and the Cyclones, Johnson and Buckley have experience taking care of the ball, both posting assist-to-turnover ratios above 1.0. As for stopping Tate-DeFreitas, it’s all about sticking to the game plan, Johnson said.

“If we listen to the scouting report, we understand it, and we trust that [Fennelly] knows what he’s talking about,” Johnson said. “We’ll be fine.”