Bill Fennelly on 400th win as ISU's coach: 'It's not a big deal'

By Rob Gray

 Correspondent

 DES MOINES - Bill Fennelly side-stepped the limelight in his usual manner - by deflecting it.

The longtime Iowa State women's basketball coach won his 400th game with the program Sunday as the Cyclones topped Drake 89-47 before a crowd of 3,241 at the Knapp Center.

But Fennelly considered the triumph as less a milestone than a barely perceptible speed bump for his 22nd-ranked team, which improved to 4-0 while shooting 50 percent (10 of 20) from 3-point range against the Bulldogs (2-3).

“I'm more excited about the 4-0 than the other zero,” Fennelly said. “I've been very lucky. No. 1, Iowa State's allowed me to coach there that long in an industry where that isn't normally the case. I've had so many great players and assistants. I tell people all the time I have the best job in the world. I get to hang around with these guys.”

Those “guys” included forward Hallie Christofferson, who scored 25 points on just 10 field goal attempts.

The senior from Hamlin sparked a 14-0 run to close the first half that turned a 26-22 lead into a 40-22 edge.

She added four rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals to her stat totals while seeing her scoring average actually drop slightly to 26.8 points per game.

“We were really moving the ball around through our offense and we were able to get a lot of people open shots on the outside,” said Christofferson, who has scored at least 25 points in each game this season. “We knocked them down. We stepped up and had a lot of confidence.”

Three other Cyclones - Seanna Johnson (14), Brynn Williamson (14) and Jadda Buckley (12) - also scored in double figures.

Johnson, a freshman, also clutched a game-high 11 rebounds to notch her first career double-double.

“I knew I had to come out just to contribute,” said Johnson, who also hit 2 of 4 from beyond the arc. “Know my role as a teammate.”

Christofferson's role has been well-defined for years, but may require even more sharpening.

Fennelly referenced a Tweet from his son, Steven, to help describe her efficient production.

“She's like (Creighton's) Doug McDermott,” Fennelly said. “Doesn't need the ball in her hands a lot, but when you can shoot the 3, post up and make free throws, you're hard to guard. We have to be increasingly creative with ways to get her the ball.”

If that number can top 400, Fennelly will be thrilled.

As for 400 wins at Iowa State, he's merely grateful.

“When you've been somewhere 19 years you should win some games,” Fennelly said. “It's not a big deal.”