Iowa State has struggled to shoot it. But Bill Fennelly is optimistic it will turn around
IOWA CITY – The Iowa State women’s basketball team’s shooting struggles were apparent right away Wednesday night. As the Cyclones hoisted up shot after shot in the first quarter, they continually went off the mark. The first seven shots of the evening rattled in and out, twirled around the rim or were just way off line.
The tone was set for what turned into another ugly shooting performance for the eighth-ranked Cyclones. Iowa State suffered a 70-57 loss to No. 13 Iowa before an announced crowd of 13,802 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
“The game kind of got ugly early on,” said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly. “I knew our kids would compete but it’s frustrating because that’s not who they are. They got a little excited and tried too hard a little bit.”
Iowa State eventually got the shooting going when Stephanie Soares swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key in the first quarter. The Cyclones closed out the quarter with an 8-0 run. They took a 26-20 lead in the second quarter when they hit four straight shots and went on an 11-0 run. But overall, Iowa State’s offense struggled all night.
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The Cyclones shot just 36% (20-for-55) from the field, including just 33% (9-of-27) from 3-point range. Iowa State also struggled from the free-throw line, connecting on just 8-of-16 attempts. The Cyclones typically thrive at the foul line but missed eight in a row during one stretch.
“I think we have a lot of kids that really, really care about their team and when they miss, they might not want to take the next one,” Fennelly said.
Iowa State shot 34% from the field in its other loss this season, vs. North Carolina. The Cyclones were good enough to survive a few other shooting slumps against inferior opponents.
What makes the shooting problems so confounding is that Iowa State is famous for its offensive capabilities over the last couple of decades. Iowa State’s roster is full of proven scorers, including Ashley Joens, Lexi Donarski and Emily Ryan. Joens is Iowa State’s all-time leading scorer.
“We just have to keep playing defense,” Joens said. “I think getting stops on the defensive end helps out our offense as well.”
More:Iowa State women's basketball struggles to get going offensively in loss to Iowa
While the issues have been concerning, there are plenty of reasons for optimism. It’s just eight games into a long season. And odds are that Iowa State's sharpshooters will eventually heat up. Fennelly said he’s seen plenty of strong shooting in practice. It just hasn’t carried over into games on a consistent basis.
“A lot of them scored a lot of points (before),” Fennelly said. “Most people don’t get recruited because they’re great defensive players. They get recruited because they can really score.”
It's probably a matter of when, not if, the Cyclones start clicking on offense. In the meantime, Fennelly said he’s going to keep urging his players to shoot. And shoot. And shoot. That’s who the Cyclones are. A shooting team.
“I’ve told them all, I said, ‘There’s probably a number, but there aren’t too many coaches in the country that everyone on your team has a green light.’ And I’m begging them to shoot it and then they don’t. We have kids that can make shots.”
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State's offense has struggled, but Bill Fennelly is optimistic
