Going into Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday, Dec. 4, Iowa State had not lost to Northern Iowa in 10 seasons. This year, the Cyclones made it 11-straight wins against their in-state rival.

The No. 20 ISU women’s basketball team (7-0, 0-0 Big 12) defeated Northern Iowa (2-6, 0-0 Missouri Valley) 83-55 on Wednesday after three Cyclones reached double-digit point totals. With the win against the Panthers, the Cyclones remain perfect on the season and have their best start in 12 seasons.

“[The big wins], that’s kind of overlooked because UNI is a really good shooting team,” said junior guard Brynn Williamson. “Those games I think might go overlooked, but not in our book just because we’re playing good teams.”

Iowa State started the game with a jumper from senior forward Hallie Christofferson just 17 seconds in and never allowed Northern Iowa to lead. The Panthers did however tie the game 14-14 after a 3-pointer with 12:22 remaining in the first half.

After the under-12 automatic timeout, Christofferson went on a 7-0 run including three made free throws. The Cyclones went on the out-score the Panthers 29-16 during the remainder of the first half.

“UNI is a team that changes defense a little bit more than we’ve seen,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “It was just a matter of getting into the flow of the game a little bit. I thought we had some decent looks. As long as you’re not turning the ball over. Defensively, I thought we were OK.”

Christofferson went on to score 22 points during the game and made 8-of-10 free throws. She added five rebounds and five assists to Iowa State’s effort.

Christofferson — Iowa State’s leading scorer — got into foul trouble early. She had four fouls at the end of the game and played only 22 minutes.

“I knew we had to have [Christofferson’s] back,” said junior guard Nikki Moody. “I was like, ‘Somebody has to get points on the board, and somebody has create for other people to get shots that they’re comfortable taking.’”

Moody scored 16 points and had eight assists. She played 36 minutes for the Cyclones and blocked three UNI shots.

In the second half, Northern Iowa got Iowa State’s lead down to 16 with another 3-pointer with 11:46 remaining in the game. The Panthers finished the game with 10 3s and shot above 45 percent from beyond the arc.

Iowa State responded to the UNI 3-pointer with a layup by freshman guard Seanna Johnson. The Cyclones went on to lead the second half by as much as 32 points and finished the game up 28 points.

Johnson finished the night with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Before the game against Northern Iowa, Johnson averaged 12.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game — second on the team in both categories.

“I don’t know what to say about her. She’s getting a lot of attention for a freshman,” Fennelly said. “Her game was go get the ball, beat people off the dribble and that’s what she’s done.”