Injuries have forced Iowa State to make adjustments, handle adversity

AMES - Bill Fennelly hasn't seen a change in attitude through the four-game losing streak Iowa State is riding, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been some frustration.

Adversity hit the Cyclones in the form of injuries - TeeTee Starks, Seanna Johnson and Bridget Carleton to name a few - and that's where frustration has set in.

Fennelly hasn't been able to execute some of the things he wants to in a practice setting because of the injuries, but he's given credit to his team every step of the way. No matter what the adversity might be, the players have tried to take it in stride every step of the way.

'Everyone is frustrated when you're losing,” Fennelly said. '(The players have) handled it better than I probably have and the fans and the media and whatever. They want to do the right thing and obviously winning is part of that, but they understand the kinds of things we're trying to teach here.”

Iowa State won't have any time to rest on its laurels when No. 20 Oklahoma visits Saturday. The Sooners (14-5, 5-3) have lost three of four Big 12 road games - two of which were to top-five teams - but four starters are juniors or older while the Cyclones (11-8, 3-5) start two true freshmen.

Freshman Bridget Carleton is coming off a 23-point performance in a loss to TCU and is second on the team in points per game averaging 13.5 with 6.5 rebounds. Fennelly said she strained her back in the first half against the Horned Frogs, but isn't expecting her to miss any beats.

'I don't know that there is a freshman better in our league right now than Bridget,” Fennelly said. 'She's playing that way and acting that way. She's doing the little things that it takes to get better. She practices really hard.

'What you're seeing is what she's capable of doing and that'll just get better and better as she gets older and more mature and learns how to play at this level.”

Meredith Burkhall - another true freshman - has also been forced to learn quickly on the job in the frontcourt, but is averaging 8.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-3 forward is versatile and can step outside the lane to shoot, but her biggest adjustment to college ball has come on the defensive end.

Burkhall will draw the task of defending 6-foot-3 senior forward Kaylon Williams of the Sooners and has tried to carry defensive principles she's learned from one conference game to the next.

'Oklahoma has a couple big girls so my task is just fronting and making it as hard as possible when they catch it,” Burkhall said. 'Playing in front, moving my feet and doing my work early so I don't get in trouble late and get buried underneath the basket.”

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