Iowa State women’s basketball wins season opener against Butler at Hilton Coliseum
AMES – The young Iowa State women’s basketball team got its first bit of experience during an exhibition game against Truman State last week. But Monday’s matinee at Hilton Coliseum marked the first true test for this mostly new Cyclones basketball team.
Iowa State showed its inexperience but showed even more of its potential during an 82-55 season-opening win over Butler at Hilton Coliseum. Nyamer Diew scored a team-high 19 points for the Cyclones, who kicked off the season with a day-game victory.
"The one thing I told our staff is, our freshmen are talented and they play really hard," said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly. "And when they're in the game, something's going to happen. It might be good for us. It might be good for them, the other team. But something's going to happen. And that's freshmen and when you're playing three, four five of them at the same time."
It was a much-needed strong start for Iowa State's roster, which is full of fresh faces with transfers and incoming freshmen getting a big bulk of the playing time after the team's roster underwent massive changes in the offseason. The transition wasn't expected to be easy, even with such a talented freshman class coming in.
But the new batch of Cyclones showed they were ready for the challenge, overcoming multiple stretches of struggles before rolling to an easy win. Iowa State went on a 6-0 run in the second quarter and built a 12-point lead on a jumper by Addy Brown. The lead quickly disappeared as Butler scored the final five points of the half and cut the lead to one in the third quarter.
At halftime, Fennelly preached to his team the importance of limiting turnovers and making the Cyclones' plays. They successfully did that and were rewarded with a 53-point outburst in the second half. Iowa State went on a 12-2 run in the third quarter and pulled away. A 3-pointer by freshmen Kelsey Joens gave the Cyclones a 57-42 lead at the end of the quarter.
That was more than enough for Iowa State to coast to an easy victory. Transfer Isnelle Natabou scored 14 points and tallied seven rebounds. Joens finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Brown, another freshman, chipped in with 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists. The performance was another glimpse of the potential the freshman class has and why there is so much excitement surrounding those players.
"We have a great group of freshmen that want to be able to be coached and stuff so they're ready at all times to do whatever is needed," Diew said.
Nyamer Diew makes a huge impact in her return
Iowa State got a big boost of experience for its season opener. Diew, who missed the team’s exhibition game, was back in the starting lineup. Diew, who has been dealing with a knee issue according to Fennelly, was kept out of the Truman State game but likely could have played if it was an official game.
The Cyclones certainly need her veteran presence this season, especially with starting point guard Emily Ryan out indefinitely with what the school called a “health-related issue.” It showed Monday with Diew delivering an impressive performance in the third quarter, scoring five points in a 12-2 run. She ended the day with nine rebounds and three assists against the team she played for before transferring to Iowa State.
"Ny was the best player on the court for us," Fennelly said.
Kelsey Joens becomes a key contributor off the bench
Kelsey Joens had an impressive performance during Iowa State’s exhibition by pouring in 20 points. She followed that up with another big performance Monday, scoring 13 points including several key 3-pointers. Joens came off the bench with Diew returning to the starting lineup. It didn’t stop her from having a huge impact again. Joens swished a big 3 at the end of the first quarter to give Iowa State a 16-12 run. She then knocked down two more in Iowa State’s huge third quarter.
"Kelsey was really good," Fennelly said. "She hadn't practiced for four days. Her foot was a little sore after Truman. So we rested it and she said she could go today. "
Natabou and Crooks make for a dynamic duo in the post
Iowa State was dominant in the paint, outscoring Butler 42-26. The biggest contributions came from Natabou, (14 points) and freshman Audi Crooks, who tallied eight points and five rebounds. Natabou got the majority of playing time but Crooks mixed in, providing a strong style of post play the Cyclones don't always have.
"We haven't coached physical, true back-to-the-basket post players since, ever, at Iowa State," Fennelly said with a laugh.
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.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State women’s basketball beats Butler in 2023-24 season opener
