The Iowa State women's basketball team got a rare break in Big 12 play. Will it help the Cyclones?
AMES –As the minutes started to pile up and a rough stretch emerged for the Iowa State women's basketball team following consecutive losses, the Cyclones were in desperate need of a break.
The 19th-ranked Cyclones got it this week. They’ll see if the time off will help when they take the court for the first time in seven days when they play at West Virginia at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
“I think it was a great time,” Iowa State’s Nyamer Diew said of the break.
The Cyclones haven't played a game since their Feb. 4 loss at home to Baylor, but may have needed that layoff more than anyone in the league. Iowa State, the preseason pick to win the Big 12, has quickly fallen further from contention with back-to-back losses, against Kansas State and then the Bears, for the first time this season.
Fatigue may be the biggest issue for the Cyclones, who are leaning on their three biggest stars, Emily Ryan, Lexi Donarski and Ashley Joens, to play an unusual amount of minutes. The three rank in the top 10 in the Big 12 in minutes played per game.
Ryan ranks first in the league averaging 35.5 minutes per game. Donarski and Joens both average 34.6. But Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly hasn't found many opportunities to rest them. The Cyclones bench was shortened when Stephanie Soares suffered a season-ending injury and Beatriz Jordao medically retired.
Extended minutes for the trio of Ryan, Donarski and Joens may be taking a toll on the Cyclones, who have struggled on defense, with turnovers and with shooting from beyond the arc recently.
The issues from long range have been especially concerning. The Cyclones rely on 3-pointers, especially with their lack of size since Soares and Jordao are out. But they're shooting just 32.2% from 3 on the year. Fennelly admitted fatigue could be the issue.
More:Iowa State's Beatriz Jordao went from fan favorite to retirement — and now, coach
"Our 3-point shooting is really down from last year," Fennelly said. "Everyone. And dramatically. And for us, that's not a good thing, ever, especially now. Maybe that's part of it. It's hard to quantify that."
Unless more options emerge from the bench, the minutes likely won't come down for Ryan, Donarski and Joens. Fennelly said they're trying to get breaks when they can, limiting how much they do in practice. He said the Cyclones would practice hard for 20 minutes Thursday and then use a big chunk of time to watch film and walk through the game plan for West Virginia.
This week's break from games could be the biggest asset for the Cyclones. But it's only a short-term fix.
"I think that's the biggest thing we have to worry about," Fennelly said. "We're not calling anyone up from the minors. We're not trading (for anyone). (There's) no NBA trade deadline for us. You've got to go with what you have."
More:Instant analysis: Iowa State women's basketball's Big 12 title hopes take a hit with loss to Baylor
It's not going to get any easier for Iowa State, which quickly turns around from Saturday's game to host Texas on Monday. That matchup is monumental for the Cyclones, who are still battling for the Big 12 title and aiming for one of the top four seeds in the NCAA tournament so they can host the first two rounds.
"We're in a decent place," Fennelly said. "We're not in the kind of place we'd like to be obviously, for a lot of reasons. Now it's up to us to go out and compete and play and control what we can."
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: ISU women's basketball team hoping long layoff rights presistent issues
