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One needn't tell Bill Fennelly how unforgiving the Big 12 can be.
It wasn't long ago his Iowa State women's basketball team went through a five-game losing skid. In fact, the Cyclones didn't get their first win of the calendar year until Jan. 21.
It's the kind of stretch that can make one think the bad times will never end.
Iowa State showed the 5,216 at United Supermarkets Arena on Wednesday there is a way to climb out of such a pit of despair. The Texas Tech crowd that witnessed it is hoping to see the home team make a similar revival.
The Cyclones' 84-70 victory over No. 21 Tech was their third in a row. It sent the Lady Raiders to 1-3 in their last four games after a historic 19-0 start to the season.
"Oh, it's hard," Fennelly said. "No one wants to go through it. Every coach talks about the same thing: This is life. We had two miserable weeks. I mean, miserable weeks. We played poorly, we had kids hurt, we had kids sick. No one's going to feel sorry for you. That's what I keep telling them.
"You either find a way to make it better, or you find an excuse."
ISU (17-5, 5-5) found a way to get better in the absence of veteran forward Addy Brown. Fennelly pointed to Reese Beaty and Sydney Harris for filling that lost production, but it was a team effort to dispatch Tech. The Cyclones shot 48.4% and never trailed Wednesday.
It was a stark reminder of how quickly things can change in the Big 12. The Lady Raiders (20-3, 7-3) were coming off one of their most complete performances in a rout of Utah on the road Saturday.
"I think that we really followed our game plan really well against Utah," Tech coach Krista Gerlich said, "and I think we jumped on them early and were able to separate a little bit. I didn't feel like we jumped on Iowa State early tonight. So, a little disappointing that we didn't come out of the gates firing on all cylinders, because I do feel like our kids can do that."
The Utah game looked like the Lady Raiders of the early season — the team that broke through recent ceilings left and right. National rankings. Road wins at Baylor and West Virginia. Tech was flying high.
Kansas State ended the party Jan. 17, and the Lady Raiders haven't won consecutive games since. Gerlich warned her team the victory over Utah didn't mean smooth sailing forever.
"It's not a vaccination (and) that's cured," Gerlich said, "when you get through adversity. You're going to get it again. And we said we're going to be in it again here. … It's such a hard league, and you have to step up and play every single night. We don't have time to cry over spilled milk. We've got to figure it out and get ready to go on Sunday."
As luck would have it, this weekend brings No. 12 TCU to town in a nationally televised contest. The Horned Frogs are a half-game behind Baylor for first in the Big 12 ahead of a matchup against Kansas on Thursday.
Not the ideal makeup for a slump-buster, but Gerlich knows there's no room for self-pity.
"We cannot hang our heads tonight and pout about it," Gerlich said, "because if that happens, we will get run out of the gym on Sunday. We've got to see what we're made of. … We've got to find a way to bounce back and compete."
Gerlich said beyond wins and losses, "I really want them to have more about them in a high-stakes game and to compete at a really high level."
What better chance than Sunday?
"We can't think the sky is falling after this game," Gerlich said. "I understand that we've lost our last two home games. I get that. That's not ideal in any form or fashion, but we've got a lot of basketball games to still play. And we're right in the thick of things."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech women's basketball hopes to end rough patch against TCU
Continue reading...
It wasn't long ago his Iowa State women's basketball team went through a five-game losing skid. In fact, the Cyclones didn't get their first win of the calendar year until Jan. 21.
It's the kind of stretch that can make one think the bad times will never end.
Iowa State showed the 5,216 at United Supermarkets Arena on Wednesday there is a way to climb out of such a pit of despair. The Texas Tech crowd that witnessed it is hoping to see the home team make a similar revival.
The Cyclones' 84-70 victory over No. 21 Tech was their third in a row. It sent the Lady Raiders to 1-3 in their last four games after a historic 19-0 start to the season.
"Oh, it's hard," Fennelly said. "No one wants to go through it. Every coach talks about the same thing: This is life. We had two miserable weeks. I mean, miserable weeks. We played poorly, we had kids hurt, we had kids sick. No one's going to feel sorry for you. That's what I keep telling them.
"You either find a way to make it better, or you find an excuse."
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ISU (17-5, 5-5) found a way to get better in the absence of veteran forward Addy Brown. Fennelly pointed to Reese Beaty and Sydney Harris for filling that lost production, but it was a team effort to dispatch Tech. The Cyclones shot 48.4% and never trailed Wednesday.
It was a stark reminder of how quickly things can change in the Big 12. The Lady Raiders (20-3, 7-3) were coming off one of their most complete performances in a rout of Utah on the road Saturday.
"I think that we really followed our game plan really well against Utah," Tech coach Krista Gerlich said, "and I think we jumped on them early and were able to separate a little bit. I didn't feel like we jumped on Iowa State early tonight. So, a little disappointing that we didn't come out of the gates firing on all cylinders, because I do feel like our kids can do that."
The Utah game looked like the Lady Raiders of the early season — the team that broke through recent ceilings left and right. National rankings. Road wins at Baylor and West Virginia. Tech was flying high.
Kansas State ended the party Jan. 17, and the Lady Raiders haven't won consecutive games since. Gerlich warned her team the victory over Utah didn't mean smooth sailing forever.
"It's not a vaccination (and) that's cured," Gerlich said, "when you get through adversity. You're going to get it again. And we said we're going to be in it again here. … It's such a hard league, and you have to step up and play every single night. We don't have time to cry over spilled milk. We've got to figure it out and get ready to go on Sunday."
As luck would have it, this weekend brings No. 12 TCU to town in a nationally televised contest. The Horned Frogs are a half-game behind Baylor for first in the Big 12 ahead of a matchup against Kansas on Thursday.
Not the ideal makeup for a slump-buster, but Gerlich knows there's no room for self-pity.
"We cannot hang our heads tonight and pout about it," Gerlich said, "because if that happens, we will get run out of the gym on Sunday. We've got to see what we're made of. … We've got to find a way to bounce back and compete."
Gerlich said beyond wins and losses, "I really want them to have more about them in a high-stakes game and to compete at a really high level."
What better chance than Sunday?
"We can't think the sky is falling after this game," Gerlich said. "I understand that we've lost our last two home games. I get that. That's not ideal in any form or fashion, but we've got a lot of basketball games to still play. And we're right in the thick of things."
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This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech women's basketball hopes to end rough patch against TCU
Continue reading...
