For those who always complain about the twister sisters schedule, last nights game should have met any demands for a decent opponent. Northern Alabama came into the game with a nine and two record and had taken the Iowa Hawkeyes to the buzzer in Iowa city. They showed the cyclone crowd exactly why this happened.
What this game became was a battle in the trenches much like those we saw against Iowa and northern Iowa. Northern Alabama was feisty from the start and tried to play physical against our sisters. What they hadn’t planned on was being called for the fouls they were committing. Adding insult to injury, the sisters hit 88% of their FORTY TWO Free-throw attempts. That’s 37 of 42. Keep in mind that northern Alabama made 10 more field goals and two more three-pointers than Iowa State did in the game. The other major factor was the sisters dominating on the boards, outrebounding northern Alabama 43-23. Those two statistics are all you need to know about this game.
For the game, Iowa State only used six players. Yes, that’s not a misprint. Coach Fennelly still talks about producing in practice in order to play in the game and apparently a couple of players that we would expect to see are not getting it done. One of my New Year’s wishes is to see this change as we need to or three more players to step up and provide meaningful minutes.
Joens was is her usual self getting another double double with 22 points and 15 boards. All of the six players contributed on offense with everyone hitting free throws and only Maggie not making a field goal. The defense for most of the game (excluding a six minute start to the fourth quarter when they were showing fatigue) was excellent. I was very impressed with Emma Wallen from northern Alabama. That girl can shoot from downtown and has a quick move towards the basket. Some folks at the game we’re getting upset with her lobbying the officials, but I saw it as frustration and the fact that she is a gamer.
On the Madison Wise front, the only news is that she will see her doctors again on Thursday for an evaluation. She has been ruled out for the opening big 12 game at Texas Tech. Speaking of Texas Tech, I’m never sure what to think about their team. They are undefeated on the season but have played a schedule that makes Iowa State's look like a major rumble. They are dominating their opponents with many of their wins by 40+ points. But if their opponents are NAIA schools what does that tell you? In the past it means that they will be an average big 12 team at best. Good enough to beat you at home if you don’t bring your best game. That is what I expect to see on Friday.
