What we learned in the Iowa State women's basketball team's 78-60 win over Southern
AMES − When the Iowa State women's basketball team added transfer Hannah Belanger in the offseason, the Cyclones hoped she could bring some valuable experience to its young roster and add an elite scorer to its lineup. Belanger, a former star at Truman State, showed signs of her potential in Iowa State's first two games of the season.
Her skills were on full display Monday.
Belanger tallied her best game as a Cyclone, scoring 14 points while guiding Iowa State to a 78-60 victory over Southern at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones improved to 2-1 on the season and rebounded from a frustrating loss at Drake in their previous game.
"She's capable of making a lot of shots," said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly. "And I thought she was really good."
Belanger, a senior, tallied 12 first-half points and was instrumental in helping the Cyclones jump out to a huge lead early on. She buried four first-half 3-pointers as Iowa State built a 25-13 lead after the first quarter. The lead grew to 46-24 at the half.
Iowa State, despite rough stretches in the third and fourth quarters, still rolled to a win. The Cyclones were able to overcome a stretch that included nine-straight misses in the third quarter, thanks in large part to what Belanger did in the first half.
It was exactly the type of performance the Cyclones were hoping to get from Belanger when they landed her from the transfer portal. Belanger was one of the top Division II shooters in the nation last season, ranking fourth in 3-point percentage (.471) and 3-pointers (99).
But Belanger struggled in her first game as a Cyclone, shooting just 2-for-9 from the field. She heated up against Drake, with an 11-point performance that she said jump-started Monday's breakout.
"That was kind of a confidence boost," Belanger said. "And then obviously coming out tonight and just making the first one, obviously a shooter shoots to stay hot. So, hopefully I can continue that."
The Cyclones will need it. Belanger is already looked at as one of the leaders of a young team. Fennelly has even had to use her as a point guard, away from her role as a spot-up shooter. But Belanger, who has also been a strong on-ball defender, has embraced it.
"She's willing to do whatever we ask her to do," Fennelly said.
That meant a lot on Monday. But her biggest asset was as a 3-point shooter, going 5-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-range. Belanger also had three assists.
"Obviously the Butler game I didn't shoot the way I wanted it to but I got in the gym a little bit more and made a few more shots," Belanger said.
Addy Brown scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds and tallied six assists for the Cyclones. Audi Crooks added 16 points.
Bill Fennelly tinkers with his starting lineup
Fennelly has talked about mixing and matching while he tests out different lineups with his young roster. He threw in his first wrinkle Monday night, starting freshman Kelsey Joens for the first time this season. Joens performed well off the bench for the Cyclones in the first two games of the season and had a huge game Monday by scoring nine points, grabbing nine rebounds and handing out five assists. She replaced freshman guard Arianna Jackson, who still played significant minutes off the bench Monday night and knocked down a big fourth-quarter 3-pointer. Fennelly said the change had to do with how well Joens had performed.
"She's one of those kids that every time she's around the ball, something happens," Fennelly said. "Sometimes it's good for us. Sometimes it's good for them."
Iowa State turned it over a ton. Luckily for the Cyclones, it was against a winless Southern team
Monday’s game was far from perfect, though. Iowa State has already had its share of ups and downs through the early part of the season. The Cyclones struggled early on against Butler and dug a first-half hole against Drake. The Cyclones still managed to beat Butler but those troubles came back to haunt them against Drake. There were more miscues Monday with Iowa State battling through a rough second half. The biggest problem was 17 turnovers for the Cyclones. The issues allowed Southern to make a second-half surge and nearly get back into the game. Every player, with the exception of Jackson and Shantavia Dawkins, had a turnover. Fennelly said part of the problem stemmed from him trying out different matchups. But it's still a concerning number moving forward.
"That can't happen, especially when our schedule is going to ramp up and we're going to get into Big 12 play," Crooks said. "Those possessions matter ... those are points that are going off our side and going to theirs."
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 bounces back with win over Southern
