Iowa State Cyclones
2023–24 Iowa State Cyclones women's basketball team
UniversityIowa State University
Head coachBill Fennelly (28th season)
ConferenceBig 12
LocationAmes, Iowa
ArenaHilton Coliseum
(Capacity: 14,356)
NicknameCyclones
ColorsCardinal and gold[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away


NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1999, 2009
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1999, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2010, 2022
NCAA tournament round of 32
1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2019, 2021, 2022
NCAA tournament appearances
1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
Conference tournament champions
2000, 2001, 2023
Conference regular season champions
2000

The Iowa State Cyclones women's basketball team represents Iowa State University (ISU) and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I. The team is coached by Bill Fennelly, who is in his 28th year at Iowa State. The Cyclones play their home games at Hilton Coliseum on Iowa State's campus.

Overview

Iowa State University is known for having one of the best women's basketball programs in the nation. Since the founding of the Big 12 in 1996, ISU has had only three losing seasons, has won three conference titles (1 regular season, 3 tournament), and has the best conference tournament record in the Big 12. Iowa State has made it to and won the Big 12 tournament championship game more times than any team except Oklahoma. Bill Fennelly is the coach of the women's team and largely responsible for building the program. In games played since the Big 12 was founded in 1996, ISU has a winning record against every Big 12 school except Baylor.

On a national level, since 1996 the Cyclones have made the NCAA tournament twenty one times, advancing six times to the Sweet Sixteen, including twice to the Elite Eight. Additionally, Iowa State has made the WNIT twice in that span. ISU was in the AP Top 25 poll for over four years and was in the Top 10 for 34 consecutive weeks starting in the 1999 season. ISU has been ranked in the top 10 for attendance every season since 1999–2000, including a #3 ranking for the 2008–2009 season which led all Big 12 schools and #2 nationally for the 2012–2013 season.[2]

History

Gloria Crosby (1973–1974)

In 1973, Coach Gloria Crosby led the Iowa State Women's Basketball team through their first season as a Division I program. Prior to that, women were only able to play intramural basketball. The team, at that point known as the "Cagers", played their first game on January 12, 1974, losing to Northern Iowa by 73–38. Crosby and the Iowa State Women's Basketball team got their first win a week later over Wartburg, 51–38. Gloria Crosby coached just one season and finished her basketball coach career at ISU with an 8–8 record. She would become the head coach of the Iowa State Softball team.[3]

Lynn Wheeler (1974–1980)

Lynn Wheeler took over as head coach for ISU's second season of women's basketball (1974). Wheeler coached for six seasons and had winning records in three of those seasons. In Wheeler's second season, she led Iowa State to its first 20 win season. Lynn Wheeler resigned after finishing with 14 straight defeats, stating "I've taken this team as far as I can."[4]

Deb Oing (1980–1984)

In 1981, Deb Oing became Iowa State’s third coach. Over four seasons she coached ISU to a 31–80 record and was coach in 1984 for ISU's only winless conference season (0–14). She coached Iowa State to the program’s first official Big Eight conference win, an 80–76 decision over Oklahoma in Ames on November 27, 1982. In 1982, Oing served with Team USA as an assistant.[5]

Pam Wettig (1984–1992)

Pam Wettig became Iowa State's fourth head coach in 1985. Wettig coached for eight years and finished a 100–121 record. Wettig coached Iowa State to their first win in the Big Eight Conference tournament in 1990 (the Big Eight switched to a single-elimination event in 1983). Wettig was named Big Eight Coach of the Year for the 1985–1986 season.[6]

Theresa Becker (1992–1995)

Theresa Becker became Iowa State’s fifth coach (1993–1995), finishing a disappointing 18–63 over three seasons. Iowa State never finished better than a tie for 7th place in the Big Eight under Becker.[7]

Bill Fennelly (1995–Present)

In 1995 (one year before inception of the Big 12), Iowa State hired former University of Toledo head women's basketball coach, Bill Fennelly. When Fennelly arrived, Iowa State hadn't had a winning season in seven years and only five winning seasons ever. In his first season, Fennelly led the Cyclones to a 17–10 record. That is nearly as many wins as Fennelly's predecessor, Theresa Becker, had in her career (18) at ISU in the three previous years.

Fennelly came to Iowa State after building a successful program at Toledo (.758 overall winning percentage, three NCAA and three WNIT appearances). In nineteen seasons at Iowa State (1995–2014), Fennelly has continued that success, compiling a record of 410–184 overall and 177–118 in conference play.

Under Fennelly, Iowa State advanced to its first NCAA appearance (1997), won its first NCAA game (1998), and hosted five consecutive NCAA first and second-round games (1998–2002) when host sites were earned, not pre-determined. Fennelly was national runner-up for the Associated Press (AP) Coach of the Year and guided the Cyclones to their first national ranking, reaching #22 (both in 1998). Iowa State advanced to the Elite 8 in 1999 and again in 2009. The Cyclones have made it to the Sweet 16 six times (1999–2001, 2009, 2010, 2022). Stacy Frese became Iowa State’s first AP All-American (1999). Iowa State won the Big 12 regular season title (2000) and three Big 12 Conference tournament championships (2000–2001, 2023). Iowa State defeated its first #1 ranked team (Texas Tech, ESPN poll) and advanced to its first post-season Final Four in the WNIT (both 2004).

Championships

TitlesTypeYear
Conference championships[8]
3Big 12 Conference tournament Championships2000, 2001, 2023
1Big 12 Conference regular season Title2000
3 Total

Conference Tournament seeds

In their history of appearances in the Big Eight/Twelve Conference tournaments, they have been seeded in the top five spots 16 times, with the most common seed being 8th, which they have been placed eight times.[9]

Big Eight Conference

Years → 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Seeds→ 7 7 7 4 8 7 5 6 6 8 8 8 8 6

Big 12 Conference

Years → 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Seeds→ 6 2 2 1 3 6 8 9 5 9 5 8 3 2 5
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
4 2 5 5 8 5 7 2 4 4 2 3

NCAA Tournament history

ISU NCAA game against Georgia Tech in 2008

The Cyclones have a 21–20 record in the NCAA Tournament.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
1997#12First Round#5 UtahL 57–66
1998#4First Round
Second Round		#13 Kent State
#5 Rutgers		W 79–76
L 61–62
1999#4First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight		#13 Santa Clara
#5 Oregon
#1 Connecticut
#3 Georgia		W 74–61
W 85–70
W 64–58
L 71–89
2000#3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen		#14 Saint Francis (PA)
#6 Illinois
#2 Penn State		W 92–63
W 79–68
L 65–66
2001#2First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen		#15 Howard
#7 Florida State
#3 Vanderbilt		W 100–61
W 85–70
L 65–84
2002#3First Round
Second Round		#14 Temple
#11 BYU		W 72–57
L 69–75
2005#7First Round#10 UtahL 61–73
2007#6First Round
Second Round		#11 Washington
#3 Georgia		W 79–60
L 56–76
2008#7First Round
Second Round		#10 Georgia Tech
#2 Rutgers		W 58–55
L 58–69
2009#4First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight		#13 East Tennessee State
#12 Ball State
#9 Michigan State
#2 Stanford		W 85–53
W 71–57
W 69–68
L 53–74
2010#4First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen		#13 Lehigh
#12 Green Bay
#1 Connecticut		W 79–42
W 60–56
L 36–74
2011#7First Round#10 MaristL 64–74
2012#10First Round#7 Wisconsin-Green BayL 57–71
2013#5First Round
Second Round		#12 Gonzaga
#4 Georgia		W 72–60
L 60–65
2014#7First Round#10 Florida StateL 44–55
2015#10First Round#7 DaytonL 66–78
2017#9First Round#8 SyracuseL 65–85
2019#3First Round
Second Round		#14 New Mexico State
#11 Missouri State		W 97–61
L 60–69
2021#7First Round
Second Round		#10 Michigan State
#2 Texas A&M		W 79–75
L 82–84 (OT)
2022#3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen		#14 UT-Arlington
#6 Georgia
#10 Creighton		W 78–71
W 74–44
L 68–76

Head coaching records

Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Iowa State (no conference games) (1973–1976)
1973–1974 Gloria Crosby 8–8
Gloria Crosby: 8–8
1974–1975 Lynn Wheeler 12–9
1975–1976 Lynn Wheeler 20–8
Iowa State (Big Eight Conference – round-robin tournament only) (1976–1982)
1976–1977 Lynn Wheeler 19–111–26th
1977–1978 Lynn Wheeler 13–151–26th
1978–1979 Lynn Wheeler 10–191–27th
1979–1980 Lynn Wheeler 6–190–38th
Lynn Wheeler: 80–81
1980–1981 Debbie Oing 7–181–26th
1981–1982 Debbie Oing 11–201–24th
Iowa State (Big Eight Conference) (1982–1996)
1982–1983 Debbie Oing 9–183–97th
1983–1984 Debbie Oing 4–240–148th
Debbie Oing: 31–803–23 (2 seasons)
1984–1985 Pam Wettig 12–163–117th
1985–1986 Pam Wettig 19–98–6T-4th
1986–1987 Pam Wettig 12–162–128th
1987–1988 Pam Wettig 13–145–97th
1988–1989 Pam Wettig 15–136–85th
1989–1990 Pam Wettig 14–153–116th
1990–1991 Pam Wettig 11–156–75th
1991–1992 Pam Wettig 4–232–12T-7th
Pam Wettig: 100–12135–76
1992–1993 Theresa Becker 2–251–13T-7th
1993–1994 Theresa Becker 8–193–11T-7th
1994–1995 Theresa Becker 8–191–138th
Theresa Becker: 18–635–37
1995–1996 Bill Fennelly 17–105–96th
Iowa State (Big 12 Conference) (1996–present)
1996–1997 Bill Fennelly 17–129–7T-5thNCAA 1st Round
1997–1998 Bill Fennelly 25–812–42ndNCAA 2nd Round
1998–1999 Bill Fennelly 25–812–42ndNCAA Elite Eight
1999–2000 Bill Fennelly 27–613–3T-1stNCAA Sweet 16
2000–2001 Bill Fennelly 27–612–43rdNCAA Sweet 16
2001–2002 Bill Fennelly 24–99–76thNCAA 2nd Round
2002–2003 Bill Fennelly 12–167–98th
2003–2004 Bill Fennelly 18–157–9T-8thNIT Semifinal
2004–2005 Bill Fennelly 23–712–4T-3rdNCAA 1st Round
2005–2006 Bill Fennelly 18–137–9T-8thNIT 2nd Round
2006–2007 Bill Fennelly 26–910–6T-4thNCAA 2nd Round
2007–2008 Bill Fennelly 21–137–9T-7thNCAA 2nd Round
2008–2009 Bill Fennelly 27–911–5T-3rdNCAA Elite Eight
2009–2010 Bill Fennelly 25–811–5T-2ndNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2010–2011 Bill Fennelly 22–119–75thNCAA 1st Round
2011–2012 Bill Fennelly 18–139–9T-4thNCAA 1st Round
2012–2013 Bill Fennelly 24–912–62ndNCAA 2nd Round
2013–2014 Bill Fennelly 20–119–95thNCAA 1st Round
2014–2015 Bill Fennelly 18–139–95thNCAA 1st Round
2015–2016 Bill Fennelly 13–175–138th
2016–2017 Bill Fennelly 18–139–95thNCAA 1st Round
2017–2018 Bill Fennelly 14–177–11T-7th
2018–2019 Bill Fennelly 26–913–52ndNCAA 2nd Round
2019–2020 Bill Fennelly 18–1110–8T–4thCancelled due to COVID-19
2020–2021 Bill Fennelly 17–1112–64thNCAA second round
2021–2022 Bill Fennelly 28–614–42ndNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2022–2023 Bill Fennelly 22–911–73rdNCAA First Round
2023–2024 Bill Fennelly 2–3–
Bill Fennelly: 592–304273–197
Total:829–655

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Hilton Magic

The Cyclones play at Hilton Coliseum, on the campus of Iowa State University, in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones’ yearly attendance average has grown from 733 fans per game the season before Coach Fennelly came to ISU to over 10,000 per contest in 2011–2012. ISU’s attendance has ranked among the top 11 schools nationally in each of the last 17 seasons, including ranking fourth for three straight years from 1999 to 2002 and fourth or higher for seven straight years from 2007 to 2014. Iowa State was ranked 2nd in attendance in 2013 and 2014. The Cyclones enjoyed their first-ever sellout crowd in a 2004 WNIT/NIT doubleheader against Saint Joseph's. In 2009, Iowa State had a higher total attendance with over 156,000 than 16 of the 31 Division I conferences.[10][11][12]

Attendance
Season Coach Avg. attendance Home games National rank
1986–87Pam Wettig42712
1987–88Pam Wettig94410
1988–89Pam Wettig57912
1989–90Pam Wettig63510
1990–91Pam Wettig5339
1991–92Pam Wettig42311
1992–93Theresa Becker65311
1993–94Theresa Becker72513
1994–95Theresa Becker73314
1995–96Bill Fennelly1,70610
1996–97Bill Fennelly1,68813
1997–98Bill Fennelly3,77517
1998–99Bill Fennelly6,1151511
1999–00Bill Fennelly11,184164
2000–01Bill Fennelly11,370164
2001–02Bill Fennelly10,296164
2002–03Bill Fennelly9,632145
2003–04Bill Fennelly8,021189
2004–05Bill Fennelly7,396159
2005–06Bill Fennelly7,668167
2006–07Bill Fennelly8,906167
2007–08Bill Fennelly9,388174
2008–09Bill Fennelly9,754163
2009–10Bill Fennelly9,316193
2010–11Bill Fennelly9,370174
2011–12Bill Fennelly10,125163
2012–13Bill Fennelly9,970152
2013–14Bill Fennelly9,916172
2014–15Bill Fennelly9,289174
2015–16Bill Fennelly9,833153
2016–17Bill Fennelly9,106193
2017–18Bill Fennelly9,870153
2018–19 Bill Fennelly 9,573 20 2
2019–20 Bill Fennelly 9,690 17 3
2020–21 Bill Fennelly 698 14 *

Retired jerseys

Retired Jerseys

Retired Jerseys
Year Retired Player Jersey Number
1985Tonya Burns#42
2004Jayme Olson#53
2005Megan Taylor#51
2010Angie Wellie#32

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Iowa State University Style Guide" (PDF). Trademark.IAState.edu. February 20, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  2. ↑ "2009 NCAA Women's Basketball Attendance". Web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  3. ↑ "ISU Softball Coaches and Records – Iowa State University Athletics Official Web Site – www.CYCLONES.com – The home of Iowa State Cyclone Sports". www.CYCLONES.com. 2013-01-02. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  4. ↑ "Video". CNN. March 17, 1980. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  5. ↑ "All-Time USA Basketball Women's Teams Assistant Coaches". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  6. ↑ "Pam Wettig Bio – The University of Denver Official Athletic Site".
  7. ↑ "Iowa State University Department of Athletics, Women's Basketball Subject Files, RS 24/18/1, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library".
  8. ↑ "Iowa State Women's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Iowa State University. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-24. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  9. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2013-03-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ↑ http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/w_basketball_RB/2010/attendance.pdf
  11. ↑
  12. ↑ Gouldsmith, Ben. "Women's Basketball: Climbing the attendance charts". Ames Tribune. Archived from the original on 2014-10-11. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.