Bears Race Past Cyclones in Waco

The No. 2 Baylor Bears handily defeated the Iowa State women 68-42 on Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center in Waco.

Bridget Carleton led the Cyclones with 17 points, and Jadda Buckley scored 15 points. Seanna Johnson grabbed seven rebounds, but the senior was unable to score. Iowa State shot just over 23 percent from the floor.

The Cyclones (10-8, 1-6) struck first against the Bears and managed to hang around briefly, but Baylor built an 11-5 lead before the first timeout, and it seemed like the game might get out of hand quickly. Iowa State wasn’t knocked out right away though, and they fought back to a 12-15 deficit by the end of the 1st quarter.

The 2nd quarter brought a quick double-digit deficit for the Cyclones and significant difficulty scoring. By halftime, Iowa State was down 19-31. Despite being down a dozen, the Cyclones held Baylor to its fewest points in an opening half all year.

Ultimately, Iowa State was doomed by an inability to score, but the Cyclones certainly didn’t quit on Wednesday night. After being down as much as 23 points in the 3rd quarter at 27-50, the Cyclones made it 34-52 heading into the 4th quarter.

Baylor’s average margin of victory in Big 12 games heading into Wednesday was 37 points, so the Cyclones perhaps can take some solace in losing by just 26. Aside from Baylor’s loss to UCONN, Iowa State held the Bears to their lowest point total of the season.

The Cyclones take on Kansas State on Saturday at 5pm in Ames. The game can be watched on Cyclones.tv.