Emily Ryan has etched herself in the Big 12 Conference history books.
With six assists in Iowa State women’s basketball’s 68-63 win vs. Princeton in the First Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the Cyclones guard set the conference’s all-time career record for assists with 688.
“Number one, it means I’ve been here a really long time. Number two, and more importantly, it’s obviously like the teammates. The assist stat is not an individual statistic at all,” Ryan said.
“It’s completely a team stat and so it’s just a matter of the teammates I’ve been lucky to be around in my coaching and the coach putting me in a good spot to be successful and just trying to help my team in any way I can. And fortunately, it’s been around really great players and they’ve helped me get those numbers.”
Ryan was integral in her team’s second-half comeback following a 27-7 second quarter that left the Cyclones trailing by 13 points at halftime.
Most of her production – 9 points, 6 assists, 4 steals – came in the final 20 minutes as Iowa State used a 27-9 third-quarter run to regain the advantage and secure the win.
The No. 11-seed Cyclones will play No. 6-seed Michigan in the first round at 10:30 a.m. CT Friday, March 21 in South Bend, Indiana.
More: Iowa State women’s basketball: Cyclones storm back to beat Princeton in NCAA Tournament
Emily Ryan stats
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2024-25 (32 games): 9.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.8 steals, 44.4/38.2/94.2 shooting
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Career (151 games): 10.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 45.1/38.0/88.5 shooting
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State women’s basketball’s Emily Ryan sets Big 12 assists record
