Bill Fennelly showed his team a stack of emails before its showdown with Iowa.

They were from former players wishing the team well but also mentioned how special the Cy-Hawk game was to them and their memories of the rivalry. That’s exactly what Fennelly said he wanted this year’s team to feel.

“I said, ‘You’ve got 40 minutes; what are you going to remember and what are you going to tell everyone?’” Fennelly said.

Iowa State should have no problem remembering Thursday’s installment of the rivalry where the Cyclones (9-0) beat the Hawkeyes 83-70 in front of a packed house at Hilton Coliseum.

In her return after missing Iowa State’s game against Cal State Fullerton on Sunday, Brynn Williamson poured in a career-high 21 points including five 3-pointers. Leading up to the game, Fennelly said he thought Williamson had been practicing well.

“We ran a lot of stuff to get her the ball,” Fennelly said. “We thought it we could dribble by them, if they help, she could get a shot. She got some good looks in transition, and I think in any game, the 3 changes the game.”

Even on a night where Iowa State shot just 32.1 percent, it did find a way to score, with freshman Jadda Buckley earning a career-high 19 points and senior Hallie Christofferson tallying 18 points and 14 rebounds.

On a night when the Cyclones struggled to find offensive consistency throughout the game, Christofferson saw no quit in anyone on her team against their in-state rivals.

“Everybody dug a little bit deeper and had a little bit of momentum going,” Christofferson said. “It’s Iowa, so you know there’s going to be a lot more of that. I’m so proud of my teammates for getting this win for us seniors, and to get the win for these fans, it’s just great to be back here.”

With point guard Nikki Moody in foul trouble throughout most of the game, Buckley served as the primary ball-handler for the Cyclones. She added three assists to one turnover to what she did scoring the ball — which also included going 14-of-16 from the free-throw line.

The performance she had against Iowa with a mentality to attack the basket is what Fennelly and her teammates had been waiting to see from her.

“She was so hesitant at the beginning of the season,” Williamson said. “She was in the little freshman hole where all she was going to do was what coach said. … You’re going to run this play because it’s going to get this open shot and she does such a good job of not only finding us but making things for herself.”

With one last chance to leave her mark in the Cy-Hawk rivalry, Christofferson made the most of it, leading to Iowa coach Lisa Bluder saying she didn’t know if her team had “played against as good of a player this year as Hallie is.”

Helping her team to a state championship after beating Drake, Northern Iowa and now Iowa, it’s all “good vibes” for Christofferson.

“Such a big game for us and such a big game for Iowa, too,” Christofferson said. “Just to come out here, play like we did and show our fans how well we can play basketball; it’s just so big for us. It leaves a good spirit in our minds going into Christmas break.”