Bumps and bruises seem to suit Tjasa Turnsek just fine.
The Iowa State freshman forward backed that up Thursday night at Hilton Coliseum, turning in her second double-double of the season and powering the Cyclones to a 77-55 win over Howard. Turnsek finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and a career-best five assists as Iowa State improved to 4-0 in front of 8,786 fans.
The 6-2 Slovenian didn’t exactly hide her edge when asked about what helps her stand out.
“Well,” Turnsek said with a smile, “I’m just much stronger than them.”
Iowa State needed that kind of force against a Howard team that arrived with real credentials. The Bison went to the NCAA Tournament last season and pushed Missouri to overtime before narrowly losing in their opener, but they couldn’t keep pace once the Cyclones started to separate late.
The game stayed tight deep into the third quarter, with both teams struggling to find a rhythm offensively. Howard was held to 28.1 percent shooting, and Iowa State didn’t fully break things open until a 13-2 run midway through the fourth quarter. Alex-Anne Bessette capped that burst with her third 3-pointer of the night.
Bessette was one of several new faces who made a real impact. The transfer forward delivered her best game as a Cyclone, scoring 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
Transfer guard Sienna Harvey filled the stat sheet with seven rebounds and four assists while committing no turnovers in a game-high 36 minutes. Mya Babbitt added 16 points after shaking off a slow start from long range, missing her first four 3-point tries before hitting her final three.
That kind of production from the newcomers was exactly the point for Bill Fennelly, who brought in eight new players for his 32nd and final season at Iowa State. He has spent the preseason stressing a standard built on internal strength, and Thursday’s win looked a lot more like the version he’s been trying to shape.
“We talk about the ‘Iowa State Way,’ and the kids on this team don’t know what that is, and they probably don’t care what it is to be honest with you - and that’s not their problem,” Fennelly said. “But what I tell them is, and I think it goes together, ‘You have to decide what you want.
This is your team.’ And I think they got a sense of that’s the way we’re gonna have to play.
We’ve been talking about it since the day they got together.”
Babbitt said the group felt that connection on the floor.
“We were very connected,” said Babbitt, who’s now shooting a head-turning 55.1 percent from beyond the arc. “We got the fans going and it just felt like a whole new environment. We really felt the Hilton magic tonight and it just puts a smile on your face to know (that) all those people are here for us and we beat (Howard) like we were supposed to.”
Even with the margin eventually stretching out, Fennelly let his team work through the tense stretch without calling timeout. He said that was part of the learning process for a roster still figuring itself out.
“Luckily, they didn’t get closer and that’s what I told them - I said, ‘I’m not gonna call timeout and bail you out,’” Fennelly said. “‘We’ve gotta figure this out.’ Now, down the road, that’s something you need to do, but when you’re learning in a game there’s nothing better than that.”
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Iowa State Freshman Just Gave Cyclones Fans A Real Reason For Excitement
Iowa States 77-55 win over Howard offered an early look at what could become a useful formula for the Cyclones this season: balanced scoring, active rebounding and a freshman who looked ready for a bigger role right away. Tjaa Turnek led the way with 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, giving Iowa State a steady presence on both ends while Mya Babbitt and Alex-Anne Bessette added 16 and 15 points to keep the offense moving.
For a team still sorting out its identity, that kind of production from a newcomer matters. Turnek did more than fill the box score, and the way she fit alongside Babbitt and Bessette gave Iowa State a glimpse of a rotation that can stretch defenses and create problems in different ways. The bigger question now is how quickly that early promise turns into something the Cyclones can count on once the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger message is what this says about where Iowa State stands with elite high school talent right now. Otzelberger has made the Cyclones a program that top recruits are willing to choose early, and getting all three to officially sign only reinforces that trend as the staff continues building for the future with a regional footprint and a national reach. [Read more 🡒]