Emily Ryan and Iowa State dish it out in win over West Virginia

AMES — Would she or wouldn’t she?

The only suspense lurking within Iowa State’s 88-72 Big 12-opening rout of West Virginia on Sunday at Hilton Coliseum centered on whether point guard Emily Ryan would tie or break the Cyclones’ single-game assists record.

Spoiler alert: She did — tie it, that is.

Ryan’s 16-assist performance matched Lyndsey (Medders) Fennelly’s mark set Dec. 30, 2005 in a win over IPFW.

“I had no idea,” said Ryan, who added 10 points and nine rebounds for No. 14 ISU (12-1, 1-0). “I didn’t know until I got to the locker room after the game, but that’s just a testament to my teammates and the shots they were hitting.”

Ryan played every single second Sunday. Cyclones head coach Bill Fennelly said that wasn’t by design, but is emblematic of the trust the sophomore has earned since stepping on campus.

“Emily can handle it,” said Fennelly, whose team never trailed the injury-plagued Mountaineers (7-4, 0-1). “The kid just keeps going. She’s in the gym twice a day. She’d be more upset if I took her out, plus, I don’t want to have her out of the game too much because she might end up taking my job because if you listen to her on the bench, she’s coaching the team, too.”

ISU forward Ashley Joens recorded her 38th career double-double. The former Iowa City High star scored 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while shooting 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.

ISU’s post players Beatriz Jordao and Morgan Kane combined to score 24 points on 12-of-19 shooting. The Cyclones doled out 26 assists on 33 baskets and out-rebounded West Virginia 45-34.

“I think anytime — I don’t care who (West Virginia head coach) Mike (Carey) has available — they’re gonna guard you,” Fennelly said. “I thought for us to get 88 was great. We only turned the ball over 12 times. Every stat that you look at as I coach I thought we were pretty good.”

But back to Ryan’s record-tying performance and near triple-double …

“I’ve got to talk to the staff people and get her an extra rebound,” Fennelly joked. “The kid’s a winner. If you’re the point guard on any team, you’re the quarterback, you’re the best starting pitcher, you’re the leadoff hitter. Whatever it is, there’s certain people that have to do their job to make everyone else’s job better. And Emily Ryan does it as well as anyone. We’ve been blessed and she deserves to be on that list with all the other point guards we’ve had. She does it in a way that’s so efficient. She cares so much about her team and her team cares so much about her. They trust her. I trust her. And that’s a big thing.”

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