Rob Gray

Emily Ryan is the most durable player for the No. 18-ranked Iowa State women’s basketball team. She ranks first in the Big 12 in minutes played per game, and she’ll almost certainly be on the floor every second she’s needed in Wednesday’s 6:30 p.m. matchup with TCU.

There’s never an easy night for No. 12 Cyclone men, or any other team in the league. Cyclones host No. 5 Kansas State on Tuesday

AMES — It’s not often that Ashley Joens is stuck in a shooting slump. It’s rarer still that those struggles …

Four different Iowa State men’s basketball players have led the team in scoring multiple times — and that wide-ranging offensive output helps explain how the 12th-ranked Cyclones have become more dangerous on both ends of the floor.

Bill Fennelly will be back coaching the Iowa State women’s basketball team in Saturday’s 5 p.m. matchup with Kansas. He missed Wednesday’s 69-64 win over Oklahoma State while mourning the loss of his mother, Carol, who passed away last Sunday. She was 85.

Third-ranked Iowa State is coming off a signature dual win over then-No. 3 Arizona State, but all 141-pound Cyclone freshman Casey Swiderski can think about is his “dumb mistake.”

Caleb Grill’s been aptly labeled a sharpshooter. But Grill’s value to the No. 14-ranked Iowa State men’s basketball team goes far beyond a flick of the wrist that frequently ends with a swish.

Denae Fritz notched career highs in points (14) and blocked shots (3) in the 15th-ranked Iowa State women’s basketball team’s 67-56 win Wednesday over Kansas State at Hilton Coliseum.

Gabe Kalscheur scored 25 points to help the No. 14-ranked Iowa State men’s basketball team trample Texas Tech, 84-50, before a crowd of 13,464 at Hilton Coliseum.

Iowa State’s women’s basketball team seeks to find contributions from fresh places to make up for Stephanie Soares’ 15 points and 10 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-6 graduate transfer is out for the season because of a torn ACL.

Eastern Kentucky transfer Tre King sat out for 592 days but now “can’t ask for anything more” as he contributed for No. 14 Iowa State.

No. 4 Iowa State beat No. 3 Arizona State 19-15 as the Cyclones’ stock keeps rising.

Big-time Big 12 stakes are involved Sunday. The No. 11 Iowa State Cyclones will try to keep up with the fast-paced No. 17 Oklahoma Sooners, who are tied for fifth nationally in scoring offense at 87.0 points per game.

Minnesota transfer Gabe Kalscheur, emerged as a top priority for T.J. Otzelberger at Iowa State for one overarching reason: His commitment to constant improvement, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

Stephanie Soares grabbed 20 boards in 25 minutes as the No. 11-ranked Iowa State women’s basketball team cruised past West Virginia, 70-50. She also scored 13 points and blocked three shots.