The following is a press release courtesy of Iowa State athletics communications.
WACO, Texas – The Iowa State women’s basketball team struggled to start quarters strong as they fell to No. 4 Baylor 78-41 at the Ferrell Center Saturday afternoon. The loss drops the Cyclones to 13-13 on the year, and 5-10 in Big 12 play. The Lady Bears are now 27-1 overall and continue to maintain its lead atop the Big 12 at 14-1.
SeannaJohnson led Iowa State in defeat with 12 points. The Cyclones struggled from the floor, only converting 23.4 percent of its shots, while also getting out-rebounded 64-to-25.
How it Happened
Points were hard to come by early for both teams in the early portions of the first quarter, with the scoreboard not moving until Alexis Jones hit a 3-pointer for the Lady Bears 1:42 into action.ISUkept things close with the No. 4 Bears, withSeannaJohnson’s jumper making it 11-7 to the home team. However, the Bears slowly began to gain separation, as Iowa State missed six-straight shots with BU building a 17-9 first quarter advantage.
Baylor was leaving plenty of chances to letISUback in the game, as the Lady Bears had a run of three-straight possessions with a travel call and only had two points in the first 3:30 of the second frame. However, the Cyclones’ shooting struggles continued as Iowa State missed its first seven shot attempts of the second quarter.MaddieBaierfinally broke the Cyclones’ duck for the quarter with a hook shot, but the Bears had settled in and were able to build its lead to as many as 16 points in the first half.ISUgot some momentum late on, as Johnson drained back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the BU lead down to 27-17.
Down 11 to start the second half, the Cyclones again started slowly, but this time did not get the help from the Lady Bears to stay in the contest. Baylor kicked off the second frame making seven of its first 10 shots as the BU lead expanded to 20 points. By comparison,ISUonly made two of its first nine. Despite a more balanced attack by the visiting Cyclones, the Bears continued its hot shooting, making 63.2 percent of its shots for the quarter as the lead moved up to 25 points.
The home team continued to assert its advantage in the final minutes of the game, continuing to play strong defense and disciplined offense. MeredithBurkhallcontinued to demonstrate her offensive versatility in the latter stages of the game, as she reached double figures in the closing minutes.
Cyclone Quick Hits
*Iowa State extended its NCAA-record streak to 669 games with a made 3-pointer.
*SeannaJohnson recorded 12 points, her 24th game of the season in double figures and 61st of her career.
*MeredithBurkhallrecorded 10 points, her third-straight game in double figures and 13th of the season.
*MaddieBaierhad a career-high five points, her previous best was four on five different occasions.
*Baierhit her first career 3-pointer.
Up Next
Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday for a match-up against Kansas State. Tip between the Cyclones and Wildcats will be at 7 p.m. with the game televised by Cyclones.TV Powered byMediacom.
