Welcome to the Big 12 era for Arizona women’s basketball! Everything is new, from the style of play to the coaches, the players and the cities the Wildcats will visit. To get to know more about the league, the Star is taking a look at the new and the not-so-new opponents for the Wildcats. Next up is Iowa State, Arizona’s opponent in Saturday’s home game.
Coach Bill Fennelly is in his 30th season at Iowa State — 37th as a Division l coach. He has 788 wins, which is the third-most among active coaches, and he is the longest-tenured active Power 4 basketball coach. He has taken the Cyclones to 22 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and has had 17 20-win seasons.
Fennelly has coached 11 All-Americans, with the most recent being sophomore Audi Crooks. He has had 18 players in the WNBA.
Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly watches from the bench during the first half against Drake, Nov. 24, 2024, in Ames, Iowa.
On the culture: “It’s a very Midwest family-oriented program. We’ve built it from the ground up. It’s the family business here (his son Billy is an assistant coach and youngest son, Steven, was a grad assistant), and we’ve been here a long time. I think it hopefully exemplifies good Midwest hard-working values (and) we have the kind of kids that embrace what we’re about. Ames is a small Midwestern college town, and we’re in a state that doesn’t have major league sports, so college sports is really big here, and we have a really, really passionate fan base. It’s just one of those things that has grown over time and we’ve been blessed to build a program that’s had some level of success.
“The university has adopted the juicy wiggle. It usually happens during the game when it’s dark and they put the lights on. It’s a song, I obviously can’t sing it for you. But it’s a very upbeat thing that the fans have really gotten into over time. And there’s a little dance that goes to it, very simple dance, but it’s, it’s become something that started in football a few years ago. It’s one of those things that I think our fans have really enjoyed but it could happen at any time, usually later in the game. It’s usually during a timeout or during a key point in the game. It’s not a set time. It could be when the team is playing really well or they need a little extra little pun intended, juice from the crowd. I don’t know who decides when and where but it’s usually in a timeout. Then everyone gets their phones out and turns their flashlights on. And it’s cool. It’s a really neat thing.”
The quintessential Cyclone: “They are harder and harder to find. But kids that really just love to play the game, love everything about the game, the work that goes into it, the stuff that you need to embrace to want to be a really good player. (They want to) represent our school, represent not just the current kids on your team, but the kids that have gone before you. From a strictly basketball standpoint, we really emphasize we’re very skill-based here. Kids that, because of where we are, the region we recruit to, we have a lot of kids that are that are skilled — very, very, very good with the ball in their hands, can shoot it. That’s the way that we’ve built our team over the years.”
Iowa State guard Emily Ryan (11) steals the ball from Drake guard Ava Hawthorne (21) during the second half, Nov. 24, 2024, in Ames, Iowa.
Why Iowa State is special: “I like to tell people it’s a phenomenal place, but I get it’s not for everyone. Ames isn’t for everyone ... but I think it’s one of those places that, if it fits what you want, what you need, what you aspire to become, it’s a great fit. It’s something that over time, we’ve been lucky here that we’ve been able to build a good fan base. We’ve been able to build a program that people are proud of. We’re in a state that girls high school sports has been going on forever, so they, they have great appreciation and affinity for women’s sports in our state. So that’s helped, but I do think, because it is a real collegiate model of, ‘Hey, this is what we live for.’
“Someone told me the other day it’s 364 days a year, and they take Christmas off. I don’t know if they take Christmas off, but I just think it is the uniqueness of where we’re located. The people who graduate from Iowa State have a great sense of pride in this place. I always tell people, I think our fan base, not just us, but I think our university as a whole, our department as a whole, there’s a real emotional attachment to the coaches, to the players. They get to know us really well. And I think it’s something that has grown over time. There’s a lot of great passion here and usually it’s directed in a positive way. There’s not too much negativity, which is a good thing, but it’s, it’s a place that we’ve really enjoyed being for this long and been blessed to be a part of it.”
