Iowa State women’s basketball notes: Nyamer Diew could be Sweet 16 X-factor despite broken nose

GREENSBORO, N.C. — One Iowa State player will be masking up on the court Friday night.

That’s forward Nyamer Diew.

She’ll be wearing a protective device to shield a broken nose when the Cyclones meet Creighton in the Greensboro Region semifinal of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

“She has handled it really, really well,” guard Emily Ryan said. “I don't know if I would be able to handle it as well as she has. She's been practicing with it, and I honestly can’t even tell a difference in the way she has been playing.”

Diew, who has been a starter for the last five games, sustained the injury in the third quarter Sunday in the second-round victory against Georgia. She has a broken nose in three spots.

“We haven't even been able to tell a difference,” forward Lexi Donarski said. “She hasn't missed a day of practice or anything like that. She has been ready to go and looking really solid.”

There tends to be a consensus about Diew’s approach.

“It's been really great to see her kind of continue to attack this even though she has a broken nose and has to wear a mask,” said Ashley Joens, who’s the team’s leading scorer at 20.5 points per game.

Iowa State Coach Bill Fennelly said Diew could be a key factor in the game because of her background. She’s a transfer from Butler, so she faced Creighton in Big East Conference competition.

“She probably has a little more personal knowledge of them,” Fennelly said. “If I had to pick someone, I would say Ny would be someone to look for (as an ‘X’ factor).”

Old foes Iowa State and Creighton meet again

Iowa State has won the past 10 meetings with Creighton, but the teams haven’t met since November 2008.

“We used to play Creighton every year and then conference affiliations changed,” Fennelly said. “We play UNI, Drake, and Iowa every year. The Big 12 went to 18 conference games, so we ended up not playing Creighton.”

Even with the passage of time, Fennelly expects some elements to be familiar.

“I think their style of play is eerily the same,” he said.

The Cyclones lead the all-time series 16-7, with Creighton’s last victory coming in November 1993. This will be the first matchup on a neutral court.

Creighton Coach Jim Flanery is a native of Guthrie Center. He knows his geography.

“It’s strange, though, that two teams that are 2 1/2 hours away have to get on an airplane to North Carolina to play,” Flanery said.

‘Buzz’ at Iowa State with 2 Sweet 16 teams

Three schools have their men’s and women’s teams in the Sweet 16 round. Two of them are represented in Greensboro with women’s teams from Iowa State and North Carolina.

“There was a little buzz on campus this week when we were in class,” Ryan said. “Just having two teams in the Sweet 16 is something that doesn't happen very often.”

It’s no surprise the Cyclones made it this far in the women’s tourney, but the men’s team needed a pair of upsets to advance.

“I think it's really exciting for all of Iowa State just to kind of see where the men's program is at last year and kind of the improvement they've had this year,” Joens said. “And to be able to see them get to experience the Sweet 16 as well is exciting for them and exciting for us. We're both excited to see how each team does.”

Remember Carlie Littlefield?

There’s another Iowa presence at this regional that doesn’t involve the Creighton-Iowa State matchup.

Graduate transfer Carlie Littlefield is a starting guard for North Carolina, which takes on South Carolina in Friday’s first game. She’s from Waukee.

Littlefield played her first three college seasons for Princeton, where current Tar Heels Coach Courtney Banghart was the coach for the first two of those seasons.