WBB: ISU Knocks Off No. 13 Texas A&M

[Jeremy]

WBB: ISU Knocks Off No. 13 Texas A&M
Media Relations

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State women’s basketball team knocked off the 13th-ranked and Big 12-leading Texas A&M Aggies, 61-54, Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum. Nicky Wieben had 20 points and seven rebounds and Toccara Ross chipped in a double-double with 12 points and 13 boards to lead the Cyclones in the win.

The win was Iowa State’s second of the season over a top 25 team and the Cyclones’ first victory over a team in the top 15 since defeating No. 13 Texas, 73-69, on Feb .5, 2005. ISU improved to 18-7 on the season and evened its Big 12 mark at 6-6 to move into a tie with Texas Tech for fifth place. With the loss, Texas A&M fell to 19-5 on the year and 9-3 in the conference, moving into a four-way tie for the conference lead.

“Obviously Toccara and Nicky were really good tonight,” head coach Bill Fennelly said. “We got them the ball in good spots and they finished and played with a lot of energy tonight. That was really good to see.”

The game was tight over the first 32 minutes of the contest with13 ties and neither team taking more than a five-point advantage. But with 7:52 remaining in the contest, Wieben put back a shot after getting the offensive rebound from her initial miss and sparked a 14-1 run that gave the Cyclones their largest lead of the night at 60-47. Texas A&M made a charge at the end, capped by a three-pointer with 49 seconds remaining to cut the lead to seven, but the Aggies missed back-to-back three-point attempts to seal the game for the Cyclones.

“We made enough defensive plays at the right times and then had about a three-minute stretch where Nicky and “T” were really hot in the post and we made our free throws,” Fennelly said. “You hope that you can get some separation and it seemed like when we got that separation, we separated from two to 11 just like that.”

After holding a slim lead a majority of the first half, the Cyclones were tied at halftime, 28-28, for the first time all season. Megan Ronhovde scored ISU’s first five points of the game to give Iowa State a 5-3 lead. The Cyclones’ largest lead of the half was five points on three occasions. Heather Ezell dropped in a layup with12:43 to go in the half to lead 15-10, and the score was tied six times the rest of the period. Texas A&M earned a brief lead, 25-23, before Amanda Nisleit drained a three-point attempt to regain the ISU advantage.

Takia Starks had 16 of Texas A&M’s 28 first-half points, knocking down four of her six field goals from beyond the arc. The Aggies held a 20-15 margin on the glass in the first half, but had eight turnovers to match the Cyclones.

Ezell also finished in double digits for the Cyclones with 10 points, including going 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. For the game, Iowa State was 21-of-27 from the line, while not allowing the Aggies many chances at free throws, holding them to a 2-of-6 performance from the stripe. Starks finished with 23 points for Texas A&M and Danielle Gant had 13 points.

Iowa State shot 43.2 percent from the field for the contest, including a 9-of-18 effort over the final 20 minutes. The Aggies shot 37.1 percent for the game and were 6-of-21 from long range. Texas A&M won the rebounding edge, 35-31, giving ISU its first win while being outrebounded.

The Cyclones play host to Colorado at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. The Buffaloes defeated ISU, 81-67, in their first meeting of the season in Boulder, Colo., on Jan. 10.

GAME NOTES

-The win over Texas A&M is the first over a team ranked 13th or higher in the Associated Press since defeating No. 13 Texas, 73-69, on Feb. 5, 2005, at Hilton Coliseum.
-The Cyclones are now 2-3 this season against ranked teams this season. Iowa State is 38-104 all-time against top 25 teams and 32-45 under head coach Bill Fennelly.
-Iowa State was tied at half for the first time this season. With the win, ISU is now 15-1 when leading or being tied at half.
-Toccara Ross posted her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Ross led the Cyclones on the glass for the 12th time this season. She has finished in double figures in scoring 16 times and in rebounds six times this year.
-With tonight’s game, senior Megan Ronhovde has now played 119 career games at Iowa State, putting her in a tie with Mary Fox (2002-05) for seventh place on the ISU career chart.
-Senior Lyndsey Medders passed out seven assists on the night, which improved her ISU career record to 651.
-With Nicky Wieben’s one block tonight, she took sole possession of second place on the ISU career chart with 103 in her career.
- The Cyclones put three players in double figures for the 16th time this season. ISU is now 15-2 when placing three or more players in double figures.