It had been a long two weeks for Iowa State.

That’s why after the ISU women’s basketball team’s overtime win at Texas Tech Jan. 25, it was nice for ISU coach Bill Fennelly to see a few smiles from his team that have been absent in recent weeks.

“No one’s sleeping very good, the food doesn’t taste very good, I’m in more of a bad mood than usual, but it was nice to see them excited,” Fennelly said. “They worked very hard at it. It’s only one game, but what we talked about before the game was, there’s going to be a streak of some kind, let’s end one and start another one.”

The nine-point overtime win in Lubbock, Texas didn’t come easy, though. The Lady Raiders led by as many as 12 in the first half and by seven near the end of the second half.

Iowa State was spurred in closing minutes of the second half by junior guard Nikki Moody, who had 20 points with six assists and six rebounds. Senior forward Hallie Christofferson added 20 points of her own with 11 rebounds and four blocks.

All five of the ISU starters ended the game in double-figure scoring with 15 points from guard Brynn Williamson, 13 points scored by guard Jadda Buckley and 10 points tallied by guard Seanna Johnson.

“Everybody stepped up and it was a huge game for everybody,” Christofferson said. “Coach mentioned that in the locker room that everybody had a part in it and everybody in double-figures, it’s really great.”

Against Texas Tech, Fennelly knew scoring the ball would begin with Moody attacking the basket and earning opportunities at the free-throw line. With time winding down in regulation and Iowa State still trailing on the scoreboard, the key in Fennelly’s eyes was that his team didn’t make the critical mistakes at the end of the game on either end of the floor.

“At the end of the game, I think it started with Nikki’s ability to break down their defense,” Fennelly said. “We got the ball to the right people, we defended really, really well down the stretch. We just didn’t turn the ball over.”

Despite Texas Tech owning a winless record in Big 12 play so far at 0-8, that didn’t cause Iowa State to downplay the win. While the outside world may look at a game like Saturday’s differently, the team kept it in perspective of what it means for the season, even if it’s only one game.

“I just knew at the end of the game that we needed to win,” Moody said. “Regardless of how we did, we just needed to win and that was all that was in my head the whole time.”