Lacey, defense key to Cyclones' surprise season

AMES – This has been a season that Iowa State women's basketball players and coaches will admit came out of nowhere.

Pegged for a lower-division finish in a Big 12 Conference full of Top 25 teams, the Cyclones tied the school record for regular-season wins, took second place in the league and earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

ISU (23-7) faces No. 13 seed Lehigh at 8:50 p.m. Sunday night at Hilton Coliseum in a first-round game. The winner will play either No. 5 Virginia or No. 12 Green Bay – Sunday's early game -- on Tuesday for a spot in the Sweet 16.

“Honestly, I didn't think we would do this well,” said freshman center Anna Prins. “I had no idea what to expect.”

How could a team that lost a half-dozen key players from one that reached the Elite Eight last year be in position to do it again so quickly?

It's taken some doing, and a few of Coach Bill Fennelly's, ahem, words of wisdom.

Lucky for the Cyclones and their fans, Fennelly was willing to put in the work necessary.

“I have coached this team harder than any team I've ever coached, and probably unfairly,” he said.  “To do the things they have done is very special.”

Here is how Fennelly made it happen:

Star power

Alison Lacey has lived up to – and probably exceeded – what was expected out of her as the team's go-to player and senior leader.

Lacey was a unanimous first-team all-Big 12 pick and is one of eight finalists for the Lieberman Award given to the nation's top point guard. She's missed ISU's last three games because of pneumonia, but is expected back this weekend.

ISU went 1-2 without Lacey in the lineup.

The 6-foot guard – known as ‘Aus' for her Australian heritage – averaged 16.5 points, 6.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds a game this season. Her assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second nationally and her 3-point and free-throw accuracy are among the best in the Big 12.

“It's a year that's going to go down as one of the best ever by an Iowa State player, and that's says a lot,” Fennelly said.

All grown up

It didn't matter how prepared they were, freshmen posts Prins, Chelsea Poppens and Amanda Zimmerman were going to have to play. A lot.

The void left in the middle due to graduation and attrition was substantial.

The newcomers needed to hit the ground running and stay on their feet for the duration.

“We did not have the luxury of allowed them to learn slowly,” Fennelly said. “They've learned a lot of basketball in a short amount of time.”

They've responded well.

Poppens, from Aplington-Parkersburg, has been a sparkplug all season and has played her best of late, averaging 12.1 points and 10.8 rebounds over the last six games.

Zimmerman is shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

Prins missed the entire month of December because of virus but recovered well enough to finish with a 9.3-point scoring average. At 6-7 she is always a threat to score around the basket.

Fennelly is happy with the how the three have matured while under a lot of pressure.

“The girls had to play no matter if they were ready or not,” Lacey said. “He expected a lot more out of them and pushed them harder than in previous years… If you are going to be successful here you have to do things his way. It works.”

Defense does it

Scoring often is how young players measure themselves.

Fennelly knew that could not be the case with this team made up mainly of freshmen and sophomores. Lacey and junior Kelsey Bolte would be able to provide offense. The others had to score when they could and limit their opponents' scoring opportunities.

“We have more players who can impact winning by defending and rebounding and doing the hard stuff by making baskets,” Fennelly said.

They bought in.

The Cyclones have the nation's 10

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-best rebounding margin (+8.6) and have been out-rebounded only five times this season.

Defensively the numbers have been even more impressive.

ISU is allowing a Big 12-low 53.2 points a game, the program's best mark since its first-ever season in Division I in 1973-74. Opponents have made just 35.8 percents of their field goals, lowest in school history.

“Our ability to defend has allowed us to win some games that some people probably didn't think we should win or could win,” Fennelly said.

The Cyclones have done a lot of winning ugly this season, although beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Fennelly will be coaching in his 11

“It doesn't always look good, but we get the job done,” Bolte said.

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NCAA Tournament in 14 seasons at ISU.