Coatney's Call: Iowa State Game Preview

Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. #17 Iowa State Cyclones

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011 (7 p.m.)
Hilton Coliseum - Ames, Iowa
Nebraska Radio: Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney - Play-by-Play; Jeff Griesch - Color Analyst)
105.3 KLNC-Lincoln (WOW-FM); 93.3 KTWI-Omaha (Twister 93.3 FM); 880 KRVN-Lexington and available on entire 25-station network

Huskers Hit the Road to Face Cyclones
The first game of the conference season didn't go well for the defending Big 12 regular season champion Husker Women's Basketball team this past Saturday.  Without senior guard Dominique Kelley in the starting lineup for the fourth straight game, Nebraska struggled against #19 Oklahoma's perimeter pressure defense in a 70-50 loss.  6-2 freshman forward Jordan Hooper led the Huskers with 16 points and eight rebounds.  NU will try and capture their first league win when they travel to Ames, Iowa Tuesday night to face the 17th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones.

6-1 senior guard Kelsey Bolte  is on the Naismith Award Watch List and is a Preseason All-Big 12 first team selection.  She is 12th on the all-time ISU career scoring list and third among active Big 12 players.  Bolte leads Iowa State in scoring (15.9 ppg) and leads the league in three-pointers (45).  She had a team-high 21 points in ISU's 70-58 loss at #1 Baylor Saturday.  

6-3 freshman Hallie Christopherson is second on the team in scoring (10.1 ppg) and has scored in double-figures in six of her last seven games.  6-7 sophomore forward Anna Prinns  is third on the team in scoring 9.3 ppg.  She hit three three-pointers against Baylor Saturday and scored 15 points. 5-7 junior transfer point guard Lauren Mansfield leads the Big 12 in assists per game (6.5) and joins Bolte as the only Cyclone to have started every game this season.  Mansfield adds 8.6 ppg. 

6-2 sophomore forward Chelsea Poppens leads the team in rebounding (7.1 rpg) and adds 8.7 ppg. If Poppens doesn't start, look for 5-11 sophomore guard Jessica Schroll to round out ISU's starting lineup.  She has started eight of the last nine games and averages 3.5 ppg.

Now in his 16th season at Iowa State, Bill Fennelly is the dean of Big 12 coaches.  He has won 510 games in a 22-year coaching career that began at Toledo.  His ISU team is currently 12-3 and a perfect 9-0 at home this season.
 
Iowa State leads the all-time series with Nebraska 40-33, although the Huskers have won the last two meetings.  NU has also won two of the last three meetings in Ames.
 
I cordially invite you to join Jeff Griesch and me for Nebraska Women's Basketball on the Husker Sports Network.  Our radio broadcast Tuesday night begins with the Husker Courtside pre-game show at 6:45 p.m. (central) with the tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on KLNC 105.3 FM (WOW-FM) in Lincoln, KTWI 93.3 FM (Twister 93.3) in Omaha, KRVN 880 AM in Lexington and available to our entire twenty-five network stations.  All Husker Women's Basketball broadcasts are also available for free worldwide on the internet at www.huskers.com.  I hope you can join us.  

Go Big Red!  Matt