Did I think that I would be writing a piece on Iowa State women’s basketball on my Wednesday afternoon? Not quite, but one thing I love about this job is you never really know what you’re going to end up covering each day. Streaks and records in sports come in all different shapes and sizes, all different forms and fashions. You have the generic, like the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors who have the streak for most consecutive wins to start a season (24), or Joe DiMaggio’s famous 56-game hit streak that has yet to fall. Then you have the really random ones that remind you that sports are a breeding ground for the absurd, like Mets pitcher Anthony Young losing 27-straight decisions from 1992-93. Or NBA player Chris Dudley missing an astonishing 13-straight free throws at one point of his career (Dudley, a 46% career free throw shooter, enjoyed a 16-year NBA career).
But one of the most ridiculous, impressive and downright unheard-of streaks came to a heartbreaking end last night in Iowa State’s 71-58 victory over Texas Tech. Until last night, Iowa State women’s basketball had made a three-pointer in 945-straight games, or 30 years which sounds even crazier… To put that in perspective, Team USA had not started their streak of eight-straight gold medals yet, the WNBA did not exist, and Google was in its first year of existence.
This is consistency at a level I can hardly comprehend. While that is not saying a lot, it really is hard to wrap your mind around anything continuing that long, especially something that’s not an easy accomplishment. What is even more impressive is Iowa State did this in the women’s game where the outside shot was not as big of a focus when all of this started. Trying to imagine doing this for an entire season seems like a tough task, but to do it for 30 years in a row? It almost doesn’t make sense.
One piece of information about the Iowa State program I learned explains this streak a little better, and it’s that the Cyclones have had the same head coach in Bill Fennelly since 1995. When they hired Fennelly, Iowa State hadn’t had a winning season in seven years and only five winning seasons ever. In his first season, Fennelly led the Cyclones to a 17–10 record. Fennelly brought a winning culture that has stuck, and it’s clear in his nearly 30-year stint at the controls as well from the 30-year streak that came to an end last night. When asked about the streak after the game, Fennelly had this to say, “We only shot seven of them, so we really didn’t care,” Fennelly said of how the Cyclones were more focused on getting points in the paint against Texas Tech than shooting 3’s. “If we were really worried about [the record] we probably would have run about 15 more plays to get one. I get it’s a big deal to some people, and it’s a big deal to us. I’m proud the streak was there. But it’s just like a kid getting a triple-double; I’m not leaving them in the game just to get stats. We ran two plays to get a 3, and both were in the first half.”
The Cyclones will look to start a new streak on Sunday against #20th ranked West Virginia, I’ll be sure to update this in 2056 if they can surpass their previous record.
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