ISU Downs Hawkeyes, 80-74
Media Relations
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Iowa State women's basketball team got down early, but fought back in the second half to defeat the Iowa Hawkeyes, 80-74, in the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series Thursday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With the win, the Cyclones cut the lead in the Cy-Hawk Series to one point, 5-4.
Seniors Lyndsey Medders and Megan Ronhovde led the way for Iowa State in their final round against the Hawkeyes. Ronhovde led
ISU in both halves, finishing with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Medders came back in the second half after struggling in the first 20 minutes to finish with 21 points and eight assists. Toccara Ross had 15 points and Heather Ezell scored 10 points, finishing in double figures for the fifth straight contest.
"That is a tremendous win for our team," head coach Bill Fennelly said. "I thought it was an entertaining college basketball game. We just hit a few more shots at the right times to win the game. I'm very proud of our team."
Iowa State got its first lead after scoring on its first two possessions of the second half, going ahead 39-38, on a lay in by Nicky Wieben. Ronhovde hita three for the Cyclones with 15:55 left to take a 43-40 advantage.
ISU got up six with seven minutes left, 63-57, after going on a seven-point run.
After taking the Cyclones' largest lead of the night, 71-63, Iowa went on a seven-point run of its own to cut the lead to one, 71-70, with three minutes remaining. Ezell got a layup and hit a big three to put the Cyclones back up six and
ISU scored important free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
Iowa State shot 48.3 percent from the field for the game, after hitting a blistering 16-of-28 for 57.1 percent for the second half. The Cyclones won the rebounding battle, 37-34.
The Cyclones got off to a slow start, falling behind 11-0, before Rachel Pierson got
ISU going with a turnaround jumper four and a half minutes into the contest. Ronhovde made the difference for the Cyclones, posting seven of her 13 first-half points in the midst of a 15-7 run by
ISU as the Cyclones got within two, 24-22, with seven and a half minutes left in the first half.
Iowa State cut the lead to one point with a minute remaining in the first period on a three-pointer by freshman Alison Lacey. Iowa added two points on free throws by Wendy Ausdemore. The Cyclones got a stop with 12 seconds left, but
ISU couldn't convert on the other end, sending the game into halftime with a 38-35 deficit.
Iowa had five players in double figures, as Abby Emmert led the way with 17 points. Jenee Graham posted a double-double for the Hawkeyes with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Iowa shot 43.5 percent for the game, and was 7-of-18 from beyond the arc. The Cyclones improved to 4-1 in the season.
The Cyclones have one day off before retuning home for the first time in five games, facing the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers Saturday at 2 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.
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