WBB:
ISU Falls To OU In Title Game, 67-60
Media Relations
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.—No. 11 Oklahoma used a pair of key second-half scoring runs to help defeat Iowa State, 67-60 in the title game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Saturday night. The game was played in front of record crowd for a Big 12 Women’s Tournament game, with over 90 percent of the 12,413 fans wearing Crimson and Cream of the Sooners.
ISU, which ended its eight-game winning streak, is now 2-2 all-time in Big 12 Championship title games.
"First of all, I want to congratulate Oklahoma,"
ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said. "That's an amazing team. We knew they were good. And they played that way. We wanted to spread the court and use the clock. I thought the kids handled it pretty well. It was something we talked about and thought we had to do because of their size advantage, we just couldn't handle it at times."
Oklahoma set the tone early, running out to an 11-0 lead in the first three minutes of the contest. The Cyclones missed their first seven shots until Rachel Pierson got
ISU on the board with a lay-in at the 16:11 mark.
"It was 11 to nothing," Fennelly added. "I don't know if I've ever called two timeouts in the first three minutes of a game in my life."
ISU weathered the early Sooner storm, cutting the lead to just one point (19-18) at the 5:57 mark behind a 9-0 run. Alison Lacey and Lyndsey Medders hit a couple of treys in the run while the Cyclone defense held firm, holding the Sooners scoreless for over seven minutes. OU finally ended the drought when Courtney Paris muscled her way down low for a hoop.
ISU tied the game for the first time at 21-all when Megan Ronhovde canned a trey from the corner with 4:20 left in the first period.
ISU took its first lead and held a 26-23 halftime advantage after Lacey broke down the Sooner defense twice on a pair of driving lay-ins in the final two minutes of the first stanza. OU made eight of its first 11 shots from the floor, but ended the first half making just 3-of-its-last-27 attempts from the field to shoot 28.9 percent in the opening period.
ISU was not much better, however, hitting just 30 percent of its first-half shots (9-30 FG).
The Cyclones came out of the locker room as the aggressor to begin the second period.
ISU quickly opened up its biggest lead at 33-25 behind two baskets by Toccara Ross.
ISU’s lead quickly evaporated, as the Sooners mounted an 11-0 run to take a 38-35 edge with 12:20 remaining. Leah Rush and Erin Higgins both hit treys for the Sooners in the spurt. OU padded its lead to eight points (50-42) at the 8-minute mark after Kendra Moore drilled treys on back-to-back possessions, which was part of an ensuing 15-0 run to bust open a 57-42 cushion with under seven minutes remaining.
ISU showed it still had a pulse by draining three-straight 3-pointers from the hands of Medders, Heather Ezell and Lacey to close the gap to 57-51 with 3:15 left. Paris then responded with two-straight buckets to shift the momentum in favor of OU. Paris finished the game with 23 points and 21 boards.
Lacey and Medders led
ISU, scoring 17 points each, as Medders earned a spot on the all-tournament team. The duo combined for 6-of-10 from beyond the arc, helping the Cyclones hit 11 for the game. The Cyclones have made 10 or more 3-pointers in their last three games. Megan Ronhovde chipped in with eight points and a season-high nine boards for the Cyclones.
Iowa State, now 25-8 on the season, is a lock for the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones will find out their opponent and seed at the NCAA Selection Show Monday night.
"I hope the NCAA committee looks at us as a team that's as hot as any in the country," Fennelly said. "We played at a very high level and we won eight games in a row. We lost to a great team in a borderline home game for them in the Big 12 Championship game."
Game Notes
-After trailing 11-0, Iowa State finished the first half on a 26-12 run.
-Alison Lacey scored in double-figures for the 12th time this season.
-Iowa State has made a 3-pointer in 367 consecutive games.
-Lyndsey Medders scored in double-figures for the 20th time this season.
-Lyndsey Medders passed Stephanie Smith for seventh-most field goal attempts in a season. Medders has taken 411 shots.
-Megan Ronhovde tied her season-high with nine rebounds.
-Iowa State took its first lead of the game with 1:25 left in the first half.
-Iowa State held Sooner point guard Jenna Plumley scoreless in the first half. Plumley scored a career-high 24 points in the semifinal game.
-Iowa State is 19-2 when leading at the half.
-Five different Cyclones made 3-pointers.
WBB: ISU Falls To OU In Title Game, 67-60 
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