Emily Ryan leads the Big 12 in minutes. Why Iowa State needs her on the floor so much.
AMES – The Iowa State women's basketball team built a 20-point lead with 4:47 left in last Saturday's win over Kansas when Cyclones coach Bill Fennelly decided to pull point guard Emily Ryan from the game.
Ryan had played practically the entire game to that point, tallying eight rebounds, six assists and four points by the time Fennelly finally felt comfortable sitting one of his most important players.
“There’s something about having her in the game that calms everyone down,” Fennelly said. “That’s a good thing, especially with me.”
Ryan, Iowa State’s star junior, has become the Iron Woman of the Big 12 Conference this season by logging more minutes than anyone else in the league. She’ll get a bunch more when the 15th-ranked Cyclones (13-4 overall and 5-2 in Big 12 play) play at Texas Christian (6-12 overall, 0-7 in Big 12) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
“I’m just trying to do my job and whatever the team needs,” Ryan said. “If that’s playing 40 minutes, that’s what I’m going to do. And if the team needs me there less, that’s what I’m going to do.”
The Cyclones have needed Ryan on the floor almost every minute during the 2022-23 campaign. Apart from a few lopsided victories during the non-conference season, the Cyclones have played one of the toughest schedules in the nation, with an abundance of close games. And they’ve leaned heavily on Ryan, who leads the Big 12 with 35.3 minutes per game.
“She's the leader of our team,” Fennelly said. “She runs our team. There’s no one on our team that’s trusted more by anyone and everyone.”
Ryan stays on the floor for long periods of time and is usually in control of what Iowa State is doing. The 5-foot-11 guard is so important and so trustworthy that Fennelly even lets her call plays on the court. It's worked out well with Ryan, who was already one of the best point guards in the nation last season. She ranks second in the Big 12 in assists per game (6.9) and assist/turnover ratio (2.2).
“She’s the perfect teammate because she doesn’t want to be in the game to score points and get more stats,” Fennelly said. “That’s not what she’s about. She wants to be in the game because she knows the other four people in the game and the entire coaching staff trusts her with everything.”
Ryan's value has only increased as the season has gone on. With starter Stephanie Soares suffering a season-ending torn ACL injury, Fennelly has had to rotate through post players, using Nyamer Diew, Morgan Kane and Izzi Zingaro. Ryan, Ashley Joens, Lexi Donarski and Denae Fritz have become mainstays in the starting lineup. Joens and Donarski rank second and fourth in the Big 12 in minutes played. But Ryan, a strong defender, ball handler and shooter, tops them all.
That's fine by Ryan.
"She doesn't want to sit," Fennelly said. "She wants to play."
Fennelly said they've had to look for ways to avoid fatigue. He said it comes up in every staff meeting. Sometimes they'll have Donarski bring the ball up the floor. They've also tried to limit Ryan's usage in practice. But that's not easy because Ryan is widely known as one of the team's hardest-working players. Fennelly joked that he'd have to lock up the practice facility to keep her from coming in on her own.
"I try to get in the gym as much as possible just to put myself in a position to help the team in as many ways as possible," Ryan said.
Ryan credits Iowa State's intense practices, going full speed, and the team's work with strength and conditioning coach Cassandra Baier-Pyszczynski for helping prepare her for the Big 12 grind. Ryan says she doesn't even think about how her minutes are piling up right now. Which is good because the Cyclones plan on keeping her on the floor a lot. And she appears to be up for the tough task.
"I think she'll be fine," Fennelly said.
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Why Iowa State basketball star Emily Ryan leads the Big 12 in minutes
