By Mary Rominger
The Iowa State Cyclones faced their first matchup of the season against the Briar Cliff Chargers in an exhibition this past Sunday.
It was Bill Fennelly and the Cyclones first chance to put the anticipated off-season adjustments into real game situations as the team topped the Chargers 85-48.
In a dominating fashion, Iowa State played a high tempo, aggressive game against the unfamiliar 2-3 zone defense of Briar Cliff.
“We didn’t understand their defense,” Seanna Johnson said. “But, going into the second half we adjusted really well.”
Johnson and powerhouse Jadda Buckley led Iowa State in points and also led their team to find an answer against the Chargers defense. It was the Cyclones improved 3-pointers that opened things up on the floor and allowed their offense to explode.
Prior to tipoff, Fennelly expressed his intentions to eventually move Buckley from her point guard position to a spot where she can thrive even more offensively.
Although, with Emily Durr and Nia Washington not fully prepared to fill that spot, Buckley was able to play in the position she felt most comfortable in– and succeeded.
As many exhibition matchups have a theme of testing different blueprints to prepare for the regular season, Iowa State’s was no different.
The Cyclones utilized all players, except for Adriana Camber and Aliyah Konate who are battling injuries, and were able to try and translate what they’ve focused on in practices to where it counts in a game situation.
With the adverse lineup, every player was able to contribute to the stats sheet one way or another.
As for the Chargers, the team fell into foul trouble and couldn’t decrease their deficit through the entirety of the game.
The Cyclones, who had a disappointing outcome last season, hope to carry their success into next Friday’s matchup against the UC Santa Barbara in Hilton Coliseum at noon.
