Huskers to face depleted Cyclone squad
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BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
So long as the Iowa State women’s basketball team has five available players, Connie Yori will bite her nails about a matchup with the Cyclones.
So don’t bother reminding the Nebraska coach that at Texas on Wednesday, Nicky Wieben became the second ISU starting forward to go down with a season-ending knee injury.
That fact may mean there’s no better time for the Huskers to be playing in Hilton Coliseum than tonight. But it hardly means it’s a great time for them to be there.
Iowa State’s Alison Lacey has made a Big 12-high 46 three-pointers, and her percentage from that range (46.0) also tops the league. ... Nebraska’s last win at Iowa State was a 76-52 decision on Jan. 30, 1997.
It’s hard to ignore 10 straight losses in the building.
“If we didn’t have to go to Ames every year I would be fine with that. Not because it’s Ames, but because playing at Iowa State is never an easy task,” said Yori, who grew up in nearby Ankeny. “I’m sure their players have it in their mind-set that they’re going to need to step forward.”
The loss of the 6-foot-4 junior Wieben — who was averaging 12.7 points and 5.6 rebounds, and Wednesday established the school career record for blocked shots — essentially leaves coach Bill Fennelly down to a six-player rotation. Earlier this year, the Cyclones lost their only senior, Toccara Ross, and after she went down, Fennelly relied heavily on seven players.
Three games into Big 12 play, Iowa State has five players averaging at least 32 minutes, with sophomore guard Alison Lacey having played all 120. Meanwhile, in the same span, Nebraska has eight players averaging between 18 and 29 minutes, and another at 12.
Using those scenarios, it would make sense for Nebraska to push the pace tonight. Or would it? The Huskers did commit a season-high 25 turnovers in Wednesday’s 80-72 loss at No. 11 Oklahoma.
“Our offense is to push the ball, but sometimes we’re pushing it too fast and we’re missing a lot of open things,” freshman guard Dominique Kelley said. “We can be really good if we just take care of the small things, like taking care of the ball, moving without the ball and just being more patient.”
Patience would seem to be especially critical for NU in tonight’s game.
Perimeter-heavy Iowa State may try to run down the shot clock during its possessions and hit the Huskers with a barrage of three-pointers. The Cyclones lead the Big 12 with 131 threes and a 38.4 percentage from beyond the arc.
Fennelly’s team also is likely to get back on defense and play a sagging man or zone defense in an attempt to coax Nebraska to shoot quickly from long range. The Huskers’ three-point percentage (28.8) is last in the league.
“I think the biggest key to the game will be our defensive pressure — and (then) just being aware of where they’re at on screens,” Kelley said. “From the film I watched, if you chase them off the screen, maybe they’ll curl it (back). Or if you start to cheat on the screen, maybe they’ll just bump it. They’re really good at doing those things —a real fundamentally sound team.”
Even though the Cyclones’ numbers are almost down to the bare minimum.
“There’s some teams that you could say, ‘Oh, they only have six or seven kids who are going to play,’ and you could be licking your chops,” Yori said. “Not Iowa State, because I think their kids are in good shape.”
The Cyclones also have the benefit of a legitimate home-court advantage, as they’re second in the Big 12 with an average crowd of 8,491.
“You have to maintain great focus for 40 minutes it you want to win in that environment,” said Yori, whose team played in front of 8,099 at league attendance leader Oklahoma. “We don’t have a lot of players who have had to play in that situation before. ... You hope that each time you go in that environment you learn a little and get better.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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