Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly happy with his team’s performance in a win over Central
Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly breaks down his team’s win over Central
AMES – When Kenzie Hare entered the transfer portal and heard from the Iowa State women’s basketball team’s coaching staff, she recalled some games she watched in March.
It was of the Cyclones and star post player Audi Crooks putting together a memorable postseason in the NCAA Tournament.
“I was like, ‘This would be real fun,’” Hare recalled.
Playing with Crooks is part of what brought Hare, a former standout at Marquette, to Iowa State. She’ll get to team up with her on the court again Thursday when the ninth-ranked Cyclones take on Indiana State at 6:30 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.
“She’s a great player and now I see it every day in practice,” Hare said.
Hare is a great player herself. The 5-foot-9 guard spent the last two seasons at Marquette as a key contributor. During her sophomore season, she averaged 14 points, 2.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds while starting 31 of her team’s 32 games. She was so good that adding her to the roster became a priority for Iowa State during the offseason.
The Cyclones, who were looking to add shooting talent and experience, wanted to bring in a player with more than one year of eligibility remaining. Now a junior, Hare offered all of those things.
“She’s a winner,” said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly. “She’s competitive and it fit perfectly with what we needed.”
Especially with Crooks. Iowa State already had a lot of what it needed heading into the season. The Cyclones had the post presence with Crooks. They also had an elite point guard in Emily Ryan and a versatile star in Addy Brown.
But adding some strong perimeter shooting could make them even more dangerous.
Hare already showed she could do that after breaking the school record for 3-pointers made by a Marquette sophomore last season with 91. She also ranked first in the Big East Conference and 13th in the nation in buckets from long range.
As good as those numbers were, they could be even better now that she is paired with Crooks, who tends to generate double and sometimes even triple teams. That leaves open opportunities for players like Hare.
“It definitely really helps,” Hare said.
Hare has already shown she can do more than shoot, though. During Iowa State’s season-opening win over Chicago State, she grabbed six rebounds in addition to her six points.
“She adds a defensive ability on the perimeter too that we needed,” Fennelly said.
That could be just the start for Hare, who is still rehabbing from a hip injury that’s had her on a minutes restrictions. She’s still going through rehab but said the injury has gotten better and that she just wants to help.
“Kind of whatever coach needs on any given night,” Hare said. “Whether it’s rebounds last game or what (we) kind of need. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win and that’s kind of our main goal as a team.”
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468
