No. 19 Iowa State women lose fifth straight, 86-58, at Oklahoma State

Editor’s note: This story was written in Iowa

Countless questions. Few, if any, answers.

That’s the adverse situation the No. 19 Iowa State women’s basketball team finds itself in as it continues to try to find ways to compete without starters Addy Brown and Arianna Jackson.

And Sunday, the injury-depleted Cyclones’ ongoing struggles were on full display as they trailed by as many as 35 points before falling, 86-58, at Oklahoma State.

“We have a really good group of kids,” ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said on the Cyclone Radio Network after his team’s (14-5, 2-5) fifth consecutive loss. “They need to be coached better. That’s on me. And I think we just have to continue to be willing to try a lot of things. We tried a lot of different things today that we had not done in the past, and we’re gonna do that again on Wednesday.”

The Cyclones will face Cincinnati (7-12, 2-5) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum. The Bearcats notched a stunning 71-63 win over ISU at home on Jan. 7 — the second straight setback for the Cyclones in their current five-game skid.

“We’ve had an interesting stretch, and just playing in front of our fans in Hilton Coliseum, the place we call home, is just gonna feel real, real nice,” said star ISU center Audi Crooks, who matched point guard Jada Williams with a team-high 15 points against the Cowgirls (16-4, 5-2). “Hoping to get a little bit of a revenge/payback game there.”

The Cyclones are obviously in desperate need of a vibe shift, as Brown and Jackson remain out indefinitely. Fennelly and his staff have shuffled the starting lineup and the rotations throughout this rare five-game losing streak, and despite Sunday’s lopsided loss, they may have found one potential answer for their offensive struggles in particular.

That comes in the form of tall and athletic guard Evangelia Paulk, who scored an ISU career-high nine points against Oklahoma State while grabbing four rebounds in 18 minutes. The 6-0 Wofford transfer also added an assist, steal and blocked shot, and provided the Cyclones with a burst of energy on both ends of the floor.

“Everybody has to step up,” said Paulk, who averaged 13 points for the Terriers last season. “We have really big people out. They’re a big part of our offense. I think anyone would be able to tell you that, but just knowing that they have trust in us to come in and fill their spots a little bit, that’s a big piece, actually.”

And big things could still be ahead for ISU, even as it’s in the midst of its first five-game skid since the 2015-16 season. It’s unclear if and when Brown and Jackson may be able to return, but roles are slowly becoming more defined, and with an All-American like Crooks on the team, a potential reversal of fortune always lurks around the corner.

“When we get all our people back, we’re gonna be that much deeper, that much more experienced,” Crooks said. “So I think we’re gonna do the best we can with what we have, and we’re gonna find the right combination one of these days.”

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