Talk of inexperience has fueled Iowa State women's basketball to strong start

AMES – After all the changes the Iowa State women's basketball team's roster underwent in the offseason, there were concerns about how well the Cyclones would do this season.

Many of the doubts surrounded the inexperience of a team full of freshmen and how quickly they could adjust to the college game.

All that talk has motivated them.

“Everyone wants to tell us, ‘Oh you guys are doing pretty good with what you guys have got,’” said Iowa State senior Nyamer Diew. “Yeah, we know that. Do you know? That is the real question because we’re going to come into your place and we’re going to beat you. I think teams have got to wake up and start focusing on themselves.”

Iowa State will try to continue to prove doubters wrong when the Cyclones play at BYU on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Cyclones (9-4 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 Conference play) have already turned into one of the biggest surprise stories of the league with their young team off to such a strong start.

"We're not necessarily focused on proving them wrong as much as proving ourselves right," said Iowa State freshman Audi Crooks.

There were certainly reasons to have doubts about Iowa State heading into the season. The roster underwent a massive makeover when five players hit the transfer portal. The Cyclones also lost superstar Ashley Joens and post player Stephanie Soares, who finished their college careers and departed for the WNBA.

Some of the biggest holes on the team have been filled by Iowa State’s freshman class, which includes Crooks, Kelsey Joens, Arianna Jackson, Addy Brown and Jalynn Bristow.

Despite resumes full of accomplishments at the high school level, there were doubts about how much success the Cyclones could have thrusting so many young players into the spotlight. Even with seniors Diew and point guard Emily Ryan returning, there were major concerns.

More: Iowa State women's basketball team improves to 2-0 in Big 12 play with win over Kansas

But all five freshmen have turned into major contributors in the young season. Crooks and Brown are the top two scorers on the team. Jackson has been a steady starter. Bristow and Joens have logged meaningful minutes.

There have been some bumps in the road, with Iowa State dropping three of four contests with losses to Drake, Vanderbilt and Syracuse earlier in the season. The Cyclones also lost a close call during a matchup with in-state rival No. 3 Iowa.

But ever since then, the Cyclones have been rolling, winning their last five games, including their first two Big 12 contests. Their last two victories were a road win at Oklahoma State and a home victory over Kansas, a team picked to finish third in the league.

“(Being) 2-0 doesn’t really surprise me,” Diew said. “I think it surprises everyone else.”

Diew said there have been plenty of doubters throughout the season. Some of them included opposing teams throwing what she interpreted as subtle jabs at Iowa State, according to Diew. The first came during their showdown with the Hawkeyes back in December at Hilton Coliseum.

“When we went to talk to the refs for captains meeting during the game and Iowa, they were like, ‘Big game?’ And we were like, ‘Yea, for sure and whatever,’” Diew said. “And Iowa’s like, ‘Oh, it’s just another game.’ (We were) like 'OK, we can treat it like another game. We’re going to come out and play.'"

Another came during their recent trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma when the Cyclones picked up their first win of the Big 12 slate.

“Their coach comes at us and she’s like, ‘You guys are doing pretty good with what you’ve got,” Diew said. “I was like, ‘Thanks, now we’re going to come kick your guys’ butt and at your place.'”

Even those small slights fired up Diew.

“Everyone wants to talk about what we don’t have, like we have a whole team of freshmen or whatever,” she said. “But, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, you guys are going to be the ones losing to the freshmen so you guys should maybe worry about yourself before you guys come at us because, at the end of the day, we’re doing our job. You guys aren’t doing yours. So that’s just going to fuel us.”

While the start of the Big 12 season is barely underway, the early returns on Iowa State are promising. Earlier this week, ESPN women's bracketologist Charlie Creme had the Cyclones listed among his last four in to reach the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones also have a whole other level of Big 12 competition awaiting them next week when they play No. 25 West Virginia on Jan. 10 and No. 9 Baylor on Jan. 13.

Still, Diew believes Iowa State can compete with anyone in the league and that the opportunity to take advantage of the team's inexperience may have already come and gone.

"You've got to get us in November or December when we're really early and stuff because at the end of the day, when we start getting those experiences with those big games, we're going to turn it around, there's no doubt about it," she said. "Get us in November and we'll catch you guys on the flip side. We'll catch you guys in March when we're really playing well and you guys are like, 'Oh, we should have got them in November.'"

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 roster finds motivation from doubters