Iowa State women advance to Big 12 Tournament title game with win over Oklahoma
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly walked onto the court at Municipal Auditorium about three minutes before the second half of Saturday’s semifinal game against Oklahoma and was stopped by Cyclones forward Nyamer Diew.
Diew, who was slated to start the second half after a huge start to the game, asked Fennelly to start veteran Morgan Kane.
“She said, ‘Coach, Mo’s a senior, she should start, let me come off the bench,’” Fennelly recalled.
Fennelly was not only stunned to see such a selfless act on such a huge stage but also happy. He obliged and gave Kane the start.
Diew, meanwhile, was rewarded with one of the biggest games of her college career. The Iowa State junior scored 19 points off the bench as the 25th-ranked Cyclones took down No. 12 Oklahoma 82-72 in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament at Municipal Auditorium Saturday.
“Mo’s not going to play in the Big 12 Tournament again,” Diew said. “And she deserves a starting spot.”
Kane got it, tallying three points and grabbing a rebound in the victory that put Iowa State in Sunday’s championship game against Texas at 1 p.m. She was a key contributor as an important post presence in Iowa State’s win over the Sooners that put the Cyclones in the title game for the seventh time in school history and first time since 2019. But it was Diew who had one of the biggest impacts on the game.
The selfless scorer off the bench shot 6-of-10 from the field including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Diew came up with some of the most important baskets of the night for Iowa State, which went into halftime clinging to a 42-39 lead. Diew, who had 11 points off the bench in the first half, kept it rolling in the second. She tallied a layup in a 12-2 run that put Iowa State ahead 61-45.
When Oklahoma mounted a fourth-quarter comeback, Diew delivered again. Iowa State star Ashley Joens ended an 11-0 run by the Sooners that brought them to within single digits of Iowa State. But then Diew followed with a huge 3-pointer to give the Cyclones some much-needed breathing room. It worked out just like Diew hoped. Not only could she give Kane the spotlight but ahe also got some time on the bench to watch the game and get into the flow of it.
“Everyone really knocked down some shots at the right time,” Joens said.
Joens finished the night with a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds. Lexi Donarski added 20 points for the Cyclones. Then there was Diew, who also pulled down eight rebounds and tallied a steal, less than 24 hours after struggling during Iowa State’s quarterfinal win over Baylor. The first person to console Diew after that game? Kane.
“That’s the kind of team that I get to coach every day,” Fennelly said.
Fennelly gets to coach them again Sunday. Iowa State, which hasn't won a Big 12 Tournament title since 2001, has a chance to win the third in school history.
What's next? Another showdown with Texas
Iowa State will face Texas (25-8) in Sunday’s finale. The Longhorns shared the Big 12 regular-season title with Oklahoma. Iowa State had mixed results in its two previous showdowns with Texas during the regular season. The Cyclones split the season series and suffered one of their worst losses of the season, a 68-53 setback on Jan. 15. A month later, Iowa State tallied one of its best wins of the season by beating the Longhorns in Ames.
Ashley Joens reaches 3,000-point milestone
Ashley Joens broke the school's all-time scoring mark last season but decided to wait on the WNBA Draft and take advantage of the extra season of eligibility awarded by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Joens figured there was more to accomplish.
She accomplished a major goal Saturday by reaching 3,000 career points. Joens became just the 14th player in NCAA Division I women's' basketball history to accomplish the feat.
There's still hope for Iowa State to host NCAA Tournament games
What's the latest win mean for Iowa State? Well, a lot. The Cyclones are not only back in the Big 12 Tournament title game but improved their resume for the NCAA Tournament dramatically. The victory was another ranked win for Iowa State, which is trying to improve its seeding for the postseason. The top four seeds (top 16 overall) host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa State likely had some work to do to get into that conversation. But a win over Oklahoma improved Iowa State's case. And a victory over Texas in the finals could be enough to move the Cyclones up a couple of spots.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State women's basketball takes down Oklahoma in Big 12 semifinals
