Iowa State’s Emily Durr blossoming into a contributor

AMES — The clock was ticking and Emily Durr knew if something was going to change, she'd have to take the initiative.

Her first two years with the Iowa State women's basketball program showed flashes of being a solid rotational player, but her minutes were limited and the flashes were few and far between. Then a meeting last spring with coach Bill Fennelly changed things.

Younger players would be coming into the program and Durr had to either put the work in to be a part of the rotation or get lost in the shuffle. She opted to put in the work.

'I've been a bench player my first two years and I think just being more mature in that role and come off knowing that my defense is a little bit better so I don't feel as much pressure to make my first couple shots,' Durr said. 'I can go on defense, play defense and my shots will come.'

That tone-setting meeting with Fennelly has paid dividends for Iowa State — which beat Northern Illinois, 97-89 Sunday — and has allowed Durr to blossom into a true contributor. The 6-foot-0 junior averaged 5.6 points and 1.7 rebounds as a junior, but has upped that to 9.9 points and 2.0 rebounds through the first eight games this year.

In her first two seasons Durr scored in double figures 10 times, and already has four double-digit outputs this season — she had just four points against the Huskies (5-3) but chipped in six rebounds and nine assists with no turnovers.

Durr leads the leads the team in 3-point percentage (51.4) and ranks 17th nationally. The Cyclones (7-2) have consistent scoring options in guards Jadda Buckley and Bridget Carleton and forward Seanna Johnson, but if Durr is capable of hitting shots from outside at a high rate, it adds another weapon to an undersized squad.

'Sometimes you put a kid in because you have to because somebody needs a rest,' Fennelly said. 'I think Emily Durr is getting to the point now where you put her in the game because you want to.

'We've gone from, 'Gosh I hope when Emily goes in she makes a shot,' to now Emily is going to impact the success of our team.'

'Emily coming in and knocking down the shots she's been knocking down in the minutes she's had is exactly what we need,' Buckley said. 'That spark coming off the bench is what every team needs.'

Durr said her offseason workout programs, under the direction of new strength and conditioning coach Cassandra Baier, got her in better shape and made a noticeable difference on the court.

She averages 19.6 minutes per game — sixth-most on the team and a four-minute increase from her freshman season — but one of the other big differences is less tangible in terms of statistics.

'I definitely feel more mature and feel like the pace of the game is slower for me,' Durr said. 'I think that comes with maturity. We just talked about what my role on the team would be in just helping the younger kids, and the older kids as well.'

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