Iowa State women look to enhance their resume Wednesday against Arizona State

AMES — The countdown started on Sunday.

Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly began marking the two-week sprint to the end of the regular season with a tense 76-72 home win over Kansas State.

Then, roughly a week later, the Big 12 tournament begins. And, finally, a week after that, it’s time for the NCAA Tournament’s Selection Sunday.

It’s a whirlwind of opportunity fraught with peril — and it’s a pulse-pounding closing stretch Fennelly’s become accustomed to navigating for 31 seasons.

“So depending on what we do, what we don’t do, what we want to do, that’s kind of where we are right now,” said Fennelly, whose Cyclones (20-6, 8-6 Big 12) face dangerous Arizona State at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum. “There are a lot of things to play for.”

That starts with the matchup with the rebuilt Sun Devils (21-6, 8-6), who recently beat Oklahoma State and took 15th-ranked Baylor to the wire in Waco.

“I’m not surprised that they’ve put a really good team together,” Fennelly said of first-year head coach Molly Miller and her staff. “They’re old. They know how to play. Very aggressive style.”

ISU is looking to enhance both its Big 12 Tournament seeding, as well as a solid, but vulnerable NCAA Tournament resume. The Cyclones are currently pegged as a No. 9 seed by ESPN women’s basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme, so their likely on the right side of the bubble, but not by much — and they’re not alone.

That’s why Fennelly uses big picture elements to keep his team shortened in the importance of each of the games that remain in that countdown. ISU still is without star guard/forward Addy Brown, even though she’s doing some basketball-related activities. But the Cyclones continue to get strong contributions from the nation’s second-leading scorer, Audi Crooks (25.3 points per game), point guard Jada Williams, and shooting guard Arianna Jackson, among others.

“Everyone’s getting a lot more comfortable and confident, just knowing that anyone can step up at any point,” said Jackson, the Cyclones’ top 3-point shooter at 45.6 percent. “We’ve really just gotta find the hot hand at that point and go from there.”

So the countdown continues as the chances to make lasting positive memories wane.

“Our kids are so blessed they get to play at Hilton in front of our fans,” Fennelly said. “And the year starts, and we have 16, 17, 18 (home games or) whatever, but now you’re down to two. And those moments, when they’re over, they’re over.”

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