November 20, 2014 at 11:00 a.m.
Former Wildcat breaking records in her first game at ISU
Bryanna Fernstrom scored 25 points in her Iowa State debut with local fans cheering her on
Former Wildcat breaking records in her first game at ISU
Not too shabby, right?
Fernstrom’s 25 point performance was not a quiet one. She made her presence known early as she tallied 12 of Iowa State’s first 14 points in the game in the first 3:35 of the game. Her last shot during that stretch was a 3-pointer she hit at the top of the key, forcing a USC Upstate timeout and igniting Hilton in a round of applause.
What made Sunday night even more special was the fact that Fernstrom had her own fan club at the top of section 122. An eight-car caravan of more than 60 people drove down from her hometown to watch her play. Some of whom she admits she has never met before.
The trip to Ames for Sunday’s game wasn’t spur of the moment as the group had it planned for a while. It was also just a coincidence that Fernstrom earned a spot in the starting lineup just a few days before the game.
“I know they would have really enjoyed seeing me start and thought that was really cool,” Fernstrom said. “I thought it would be great to start in front of them and I tried to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Fernstrom says she was motivated by their presence, as her entire high school team showed up for the game.
“I definitely wanted to show them improvement from high school and show them if they work hard they can be in the same position,” she said.
“It was real exciting and to have Bry start and then score 12 of their first 14 was unexpected, but obviously exciting,” Chisago Lakes Head Coach Craig Walker, who was one of the many to make the trip, said. “People would walk up the stairs and thank us for letting Bry come to ISU. ‘We love Bry’, one of them said a couple different times!”
For most freshmen, nerves often overtake you in your first career start, but for Fernstrom that wasn’t the case.
“I am calm for the most part, I don’t really get nervous unless it’s a really, really big game,” Fernstrom said. “I wasn’t really nervous at all. I don’t know if I should have been. I just don’t show emotion or facial expressions. I always compare myself to teammate Nicole Blaskowsky where she like yells and screams and pounds her chest and I am just stone faced. I will get excited, but I am just really laid back.”
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