Transfers Lilly Taulelei, Lily Hansford commit to Iowa State women's basketball

On Sunday, the Iowa State women's basketball program added two new players to its roster.

Lilly Taulelei, a UMass transfer, announced on Instagram that she has committed to the Cyclones. The 6-foot-3 forward averaged 6.7 points per game last season for a Minutewomen team that went 5-27. She also shot 45% from the field, averaging 2.5 boards and 1.2 assists per contest.

The native of New Zealand played in 31 games as a freshman and earned a spot on the Atlantic-10 All-Rookie Team, the first member of the UMass program to do so since the 2018-19 season.

The Cyclones also picked up a commitment from Lily Hansford, an Oregon State transfer. The Green Bay, Wisconsin, native started only two of her 59 games played with the Beavers over the last two seasons but developed into a 3-point sniper this winter.

She averaged 5.1 points and shot a staggering 44.9% from deep on 3.1 attempts per game, and increased her scoring to 6.5 PPG in the postseason.

Taulelei and Hansford join a Cyclone program with a lot of young talent. Coach Bill Fennelly's program was thought by many to be going through a rebuilding year in 2023-24, but Iowa State finished the season with a 21-12 record, going 12-6 in Big 12 play. The team also made a run to the Big 12 Tournament title game before falling to Texas and advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

Fennelly and his staff have already secured two other transfer portal commitments this offseason, from TCU transfer Sydney Harris and Marquette guard Kenzie Hare.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State women's basketball adds Lilly Taulelei, Lily Hansford