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Heather Ezell was the last Iowa State player to leave the court Monday, raising her index fingers toward the fans, wiping a tear from her eye and jogging to the Wells Fargo Arena locker room.
The Cyclones’ season had just ended with a 69-58 loss to Rutgers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But it was Ezell who prevented Iowa State from getting steamrolled by the burlier Scarlet Knights in the first half.
The 5-foot-9 junior guard scored 16 of her team’s 31 points in the opening 20 minutes, including three 3-pointers. Iowa State needed her prowess on the perimeter because Rutgers center Kia Vaughn was dominating the post.
Vaughn had 17 points in the half, which ended in a 39-31 lead for the second-seeded Scarlet Knights. Rutgers outscored Iowa State 22-6 in the paint in the half.
“It was just nice to get that first shot to fall,” she said. “My teammates were getting me the ball in a position where I was open.”
Ezell bounced back from a five-point performance in Iowa State’s opening-round victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday. She was only 1-of-7 from the field in that game.
“When you play an outstanding team like Rutgers, you need several players to contribute,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly. “In the first half for us, that was just Heather. When one player scores more than half of your points, you have to credit her for keeping you in the game.”
Ezell finished with 19 points, then wanted to be sure to salute the Iowa State fans, who constituted the bulk of the crowd of 8,379.
“It’s hard to know that your season is over,” she said. “But what these fans have done for us all season is something that can’t be forgotten.”
