AMES — After losing in overtime to No. 11 Kansas State on the road, Iowa State looks ahead to a game back at Hilton Coliseum against No. 9 TCU on Sunday.
In the overtime game against Kansas State, the Cyclones fell 87-79. A key factor in the Cyclones’ defeat was the Wildcats’ strong offensive performance, which included long scoring runs that Iowa State struggled to break.
Similar to the loss against Kansas State, TCU’s formidable offense is a major concern for the Cyclones. Iowa State aims to improve its defense to prevent the mistakes made in Manhattan, Kansas.
“Just stay fundamental,” sophomore guard Kelsey Joens said. “Know the scouting report, just doing the little things, keep them off the glass, make sure they don’t get second chance opportunities.”
During the team’s plane ride back to Ames, Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly had no trouble getting back in the mindset of winning as he didn’t let the loss come down on him and looked forward to playing against TCU.
“Ironically Billy [Fennelly]’s got TCU, so we sit together on the bus and wait, get to the plane, sit together on the plane,” Fennelly said. “So we spent about an hour-and-a-half as soon as the game was over and then they just kind of gave like a crash course, just kept talking to me, because I don’t look ahead. Then got home last night, and sat at the island till about 4:30 [a.m.] and tried to get to work.”
Running with a 47% success rate from field goal range, averaging 29 shots per night, on top of a 37% 3-point hit rate, the Horned Frogs are going to be one of the harder teams the Cyclones have faced as their offensive skill has earned TCU a 20-2 overall record.
“Very talented team, obviously their record speaks for itself,” Fennelly said. “I think they are the oldest team in the country. Sedona Prince, I think is about 25 years old, and I think I saw they have four graduate students and a fifth or fourth-year senior.”
One of the biggest offensive struggles that Fennelly points out to the team is Prince, who has the height advantage against the Cyclones, standing at 6-feet 7-inches, and averages a 61% hit rate of field goal shots and is 72% from free throws.
“They are the hardest matchup by far for us, not just because [Prince] is 6-foot-7-inches, but [Billy Fennelly] compared her to Anthony Davis,” Fennelly said. “She catches the ball and she’s on the perimeter and she’s shooting jumpers. It’s a really hard guard for us.”
Complementing Prince, the Horned Frogs have a team that implements experience and a deep roster, with players such as guard Hailey Van Lith, who shoots 45% from field goal range, 32% from deep and 83% from the charity stripe. Senior guard Madison Conner is 45% from the 3-point arc and 84% from the free throw line.
“Very skilled, they don’t play a lot of kids but all six of them are very talented, very scoring-minded,” Fennelly said. “Madison Conner is the best 3-point shooter in the country and Hailey Van Lith, everybody knows her.”
“They got a lot of weapons offensively, and we are excited it will be a good challenge,” sophomore forward Addy Brown said. “A lot of well-known players are on that team so we are going to compete and just do what we do.”
The Cyclones will take on TCU in their annual Play4Kay game at 3 p.m. Sunday from Hilton Coliseum. The game will be broadcast live on FS1.
