Iowa State shoots cold, falls to Texas at Hilton

Coming off a tremendous upset win in Waco and a clutch home win over Oklahoma, Iowa State took the court on Saturday night, taking on the stingy Texas Longhorns. Texas got the best of Iowa State in Austin earlier this year in a 74-59 win.

Looking to expand on their first-place lead in the Big 12 Conference, Iowa State got off to a rough start. They held an 8-4 lead early, but Texas was completely uninterested in letting Iowa State get comfy at home. The Longhorns rattled off a 16-4 run over the final 6:20 of the first quarter to take a 20-12 lead. Charli Collier led the visitors early, scoring half of their first quarter points, while Iowa State struggled to sink their shots. They bounced back a bit in the second, as they outscored Texas 17-14, but their star, Ashley Joens, failed to find the scoreboard being held to just 2 points (a pair of free throws in the 1st) through 2 quarters (committed her 3rd foul 3 minutes into the 2nd and was pulled.) The Cyclones battled on with Joens on the bench cutting into the Longhorn lead, but every run Iowa State could muster was quickly shut down.

Iowa State closed it all the way down to 1 point with 7:30 to go in the 3rd on an Emily Ryan basket (plus the foul), but Joanne Allen-Taylor immediately answered with a triple of her own, and Texas went on a 14-0 run expanding the lead back to 52-37. That 4 and half minute stretch proved costly for the Cyclones as the 3rd quarter came to an end as the home team found themselves trailing 55-43, capped off by a Charli Collier jumper at the buzzer.

The shooting struggles plagued the Cyclones all night. Texas gave them their chances, but the shots just never fell consistently enough, as Texas just rolled with every punch in the final frame. The Cyclones outscored the Longhorns 16-15 but fell by a final of 70-59, ending their 4-game win streak. Collier led the Longhorns with a game-high 22 points, while Ashley Joens bounced back in the 4th quarter to lead the Cyclones with 17. Collier also dominated the Cyclones down low with 19 rebounds (the Cyclones as a team only had 29.)

The Cyclones (6-2) drop to 2nd in the standings with the loss (half-game back of 4-1 Baylor) and will look to bounce back against the Kansas State Wildcats on January 28th, down in Manhattan, Kansas.

GAME STATS

Iowa State Cyclones

Texas Longhorns