Fennelly Earns 400th Win with 85-62 Victory

[Jeremy]

Fennelly Earns 400th Win with 85-62 Victory
Media Relations

AMES, Iowa -- Four players finished in double figures as the Iowa State women’s basketball team turned in an 85-62 win over Cal State Fullerton in its season opener as Head Coach Bill Fennelly earned his 400th career win on Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum.

“It’s a moment to reflect about the people in your life and how lucky you are to be doing what you are doing, all the players I’ve had, all the coaches I’ve had,” Fennelly said. “It makes you appreciate why you went into this. Winning is fun, but it’s about your family and friends and all the players. There are so many people who allow you to do what you do. I’ve been truly blessed to have those kind of people. It’s really exciting to get the season started. I thought it was a good game to watch. I thought it was entertaining.”

Senior Lyndsey Medders led all scorers with 24 points on the night, including going 8-of-14 from the field and 4-for-9 from beyond the arc, and turned in six assists. Sophomore Nicky Wieben finished with 20 points on the night, a new personal high. She also had five blocked shots, giving her 64 for her career and moving her up to eighth place on the Iowa State career charts just one game into her second collegiate season.

Freshman Alison Lacey finished with 12 points and led the team on the boards with nine rebounds on the night, while Heather Ezell had 10 points and seven rebounds to round out the double-digit scorers for ISU.

Iowa State scored 12 unanswered points coming out of the locker room at halftime, getting points from five different players over the first three and a half minutes of the second half to take a 52-29 lead they would never relinquish. ISU got out to its largest lead of the night on a three-pointer by Lacey with 1:22 remaining to give the Cyclones an 83-59 advantage.

The Cyclones led 40-29 at halftime, thanks to solid shooting and a 23-16 rebounding advantage. Medders had 15 points, including going 3-for-4 from three-point range in the opening period. ISU finished with a 46-33 rebounding advantage.

Lacey hit the first three of the game for the Cyclones, as ISU opened the contest 4-of-5 from long range, and gave Iowa State its first lead, 7-4, and Wieben drained four straight free throws to jumpstart ISU, 11-4.

Both teams started hot, hitting the first four shots of the game, and after going 8-for-32 from three-point range (.229) during two exhibition games, the Cyclones started the regular season on fire from beyond the arc, hitting 6-of-13 (46.7 percent) in the first half and 11-for-25 for the game (44.0 percent).

The Cyclones will now hit the road for four consecutive road games, beginning with a game at Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. Monday in Cedar Falls, Iowa. ISU will return home on Dec. 2, when it faces UW-Milwaukee at 2 p.m.