It didn’t take freshman post player Bryanna Fernstrom long to transition into the college basketball lifestyle. In fact, it only took her one game.

Fernstrom scored 12 of the first 14 points for the Cyclones in their home opener Nov. 16. By the end of the game, the Minnesota native had totaled 25 points in the team’s 98-76 win over USC Upstate.

“The last couple of games I haven’t been finishing very well,” Fernstrom said. “I’ve been working hard at practice to start making my layups, but I’m happy that they’ve started to go in.”

Fernstrom’s 25 points are the most ever by an ISU freshman in a career-opener, breaking the record that was set in 2009 by Anna Prins. She also finished the game with two 3-pointers and was a perfect 7 for 7 from the free throw line.

“We were all playing really well together creating opportunities,” Fernstrom said. “Guards were finding me, and I was finishing.”

In the first two exhibition games, however, it was fellow freshman post Claire Ricketts who started instead of Fernstrom. The decision to give Fernstrom the start came in late last week and isn’t one that Fennelly regrets.

“We felt she gave us the best chance to score,” Fennelly said. “I really worried about us having the ability to make shots around the basket and finish … If you look at her stats in practice and in the exhibition games, she warranted the opportunity and to her credit she made the most of it.”

Yet by the end of the game, it wasn’t the offensive performance that caught Fennelly’s attention. It was what happened on the other end of the court.

The Spartans shot 42.6 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from the three-point line, something Fennelly wasn’t too happy about.

“We did the things offensively that we needed to do,” Fennelly said. “Certainly defensively to say we’re a work in progress might be an understatement. We better get better, a lot better, before Nov. 18 or that 98 might be on the other side of the scoreboard.”

The source of the defensive problem may have come in part from the success the Cyclones had on the offensive end. Along with Fernstrom’s big day, both sophomore guard Seanna Johnson and senior guard Brynn Williamson finished with a double-double, scoring 20 points and 10 rebounds and 13 points and 12 rebounds respectively.

Fennelly said he thinks they might have simply relaxed too much on the defensive end of the court that by scoring so many points. 

“I think what happens in a game like this is we were scoring so much, and you get ahead, and then you relax,” Fennelly said. “The excitement of winning is certainly dampened by our inability to stop the ball, and that’s a problem. We’ve got to get that fixed quickly.”

Along with the defensive mistakes, Fennelly said that the Cyclones need to focus on cleaning up the little things. While they don’t have a lot of time before their next game Nov. 18, Fennelly said they’re going to get right to work.

“The great thing about basketball is usually you turn around quickly and play again,” Fennelly said. “We have a huge game here on Nov. 18 against Drake, so we have to get ready and we’ll start tonight.”