With his team trailing 58-49 with 4:29 left in the game, ISU coach Bill Fennelly called a timeout to put Hallie Christofferson back in the game, after early foul trouble, to focus a team that felt somewhat lost on the floor.

When she returned to the court, Christofferson grabbed an offensive rebound, made a layup as she was fouled and hit the free throw to pull the Cyclones within six points. 

All of that happened in her first six seconds back into the game.

Iowa State clawed its way back to within three points with 1:18 remaining, but couldn’t hold off the No. 15 Oklahoma State and lost for the first time this season 69-62 to quiet the crowd of nearly 11,000 at Hilton Coliseum.

When the game was on the line and their best player nearly shut down with four fouls, no one stepped up to make a play. In a place known for “Hilton Magic” in the heart of an undefeated season, fans went home feeling less than magical in a loss that perhaps wasn’t even as close as the score indicated.

“We kind of lost it as a team,” said junior forward/guard Brynn Williamson. 

“We’ve played where we are getting shots and people are jacked … [but] Hallie gets her fourth foul and we just totally [look] like four deer in the headlights out there, like, ‘How are we going to score?’”

Acting as the spark for the Cyclones (14-1, 2-1 Big 12) for all of the season, Christofferson was limited for most of the game despite recording a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. After getting into foul trouble with about eight minutes left in the game, Iowa State struggled to keep up with Oklahoma State on both ends of the floor.

Christofferson made 8-of-18 field goals as she was tightly defended, but the four remaining starters struggled to offer any help, going 8-for-26 from the field between them. In the biggest game of the season to date, the Cyclones failed to feed off one of the most notoriously supportive crowds in the nation.

“We got it down to three points when Seanna hit that 3,” Williamson said of the final minutes. “I mean, there were 11,000 people more excited than the five people playing in the white jerseys. That’s just something you can’t fix on the stat sheet, that’s something you have to do in person.”

It’s a problem that never cost the Cyclones a game in nonconference play when facing lesser competition. In games against ranked opponents Iowa and Oklahoma, players like Williamson and freshman Jadda Buckley stepped up when Christofferson was limited.

In a competitive league like the Big 12, Iowa State will possibly have to find a way to win games without going solely through Christofferson. Fennelly said he will not put up with a team that isn’t excited to win games.

“If the emotion and effort in this game was lacking, two things need to happen: They need to look in the mirror, and they need a new coach,” Fennelly said. “I promise you that will be taken care of.”

The Cyclones will take on West Virginia at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Hilton Coliseum.