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Iowa State women’s basketball “excited” to experience “Hilton South” vibe at Big 12 tournament
No. 10-ranked Cyclones play quarterfinal game Friday
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bill Fennelly looked at his seniors and his heart sank.
Two years ago, Iowa State’s head women’s basketball coach absorbed the news that the Big 12 tournament had been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he then had to deliver to his team.
He winced, then spoke.
“We were literally getting ready to reach for the basketballs and they stopped it,” Fennelly said, recalling March 2020. “It was one of the hardest locker rooms I’ve ever been in.”
The tournament returned last season, but with the crowd limited to 20 percent of capacity.
Now it’s full-go for the 10th-ranked Cyclones and their fans, who will give this group of ISU seniors its first so-called “Hilton South” experience beginning with Friday’s 5 p.m. (ESPN+) quarterfinal matchup with either West Virginia or TCU at the venerable Municipal Auditorium.
“We’re excited,” said Cyclone senior guard Ashley Joens, the reigning Cheryl Miller Award winner. “With everything that happened last year, not having all of our fans here and then getting the opportunity to get to experience it with men and women both here and to have all of our fans — I know a lot of people are excited, and we're excited to get out there and get ready.”
That’s three e-words in one quote, but it’s warranted.
And ISU possesses three key components that can stoke success in a one-and-done tournament setting:
- Joens — the program’s all-time leading scorer — can and does score from anywhere on the floor. She’s also shooting a career-best 37.2 percent from 3-point range and has drained a single-season career-high 77 long-range baskets.
“You can’t take anything for granted,” the former Iowa City High star said. “You just go out there and give it everything you have every time you get the chance.”
- Sophomore guard Lexi Donarski gives the Cyclones a lockdown defender. The Big 12’s defensive player of the year also can pester post players and affect their shots because of her length and athleticism.
“She knows what move they’re gonna do before they even do it,” forward Morgan Kane said.
- Kane’s ability to score, rebound and facilitate from the post also has helped ISU set new standards for regular-season wins (25) and conference victories (14). The 6-foot-3 senior is averaging a career-high 7.7 points and 5.1 rebounds while splitting time with Beatriz Jordao and the versatile Nyamer Diew.
“The reason we are where we are in large part is because of those kids,” Fennelly said of his improved post play. “I think they’re ready to go.”
That was true two years ago, when a regular-season upset of top-ranked Baylor proved to be the last game the Cyclones would play. It was true last season, even as “Hilton South” was mostly muzzled. It’s especially true now as ISU prepares to reach for — and actually handle — the basketballs this time around.
“You can contrast that with this year,” Kane said. “We’re excited. You can just feel the energy not just from our team, but every team, just to play in this Big 12 environment. It’s unlike any other.”
Comments: robgray18@icloud.com
Iowa State forward Morgan Kane (31) shoots against Texas guard Aliyah Matharu (2) and forward DeYona Gaston (5) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
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