Patience with the ball on offense was evident for Iowa State as it found a win in its exhibition opener.

The ISU women’s basketball team defeated Wayne State 76-52 on Sunday, Nov. 3, at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones committed just seven turnovers to 19 by the Wildcats.

Iowa State scored 24 points off of the 19 turnovers by Wayne State and gave up just eight points of its seven give-aways.

“We’ve had practices where we’re running plays [five-on-zero] and we have seven turnovers, just the ball’s going everywhere,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “To our kids’ credit, they understand that we’ve got to be really good or better than we were last year with the ball. We can’t turn the ball over because we’re not going to be able to compensate for it in other areas.”

Junior Nikki Moody and freshman Jadda Buckley were the primary ball handlers for the Cyclones and both started on Sunday with Moody committing just two turnovers and Buckley with zero.

Moody finished with five points and nine assists while Buckley added five points and three assists in her ISU debut.

“Last year, that would have been the first half,” said junior Brynn Williamson. “Taking care of the ball, it’s not easy to do but when the team is playing a zone, that’s a time you should never turn the ball over. You should get open look after open look and be able to pass the ball inside when they do spread out on the shooters.”

An area of improvement Iowa State wants to focus on is rebounding. Without Chelsea Poppens and Anna Prins in the post, who both exhausted eligibility after last season, the identity of the Cyclones getting rebounds has altered due personnel this season.

The Cyclones outrebounded the Wildcats 39-36 in the game, but were outrebounded 19-21 after the first half. Fennelly acknowledged that rebounding will challenge Iowa State all year long.

“We need to just survive our rebounding situation,” Fennelly said. “There’s going to be a lot of games we get outrebounded. When that happens, you don’t commit a foul and give them another shot. You cut down on your turnovers, you create a few more turnovers, you shoot the ball better, you continue to make your free throws. We have to compensate for that. We’re not going to get any taller, but we’ve got to be better.”

Hallie Christofferson led the way for the Cyclones with 24 points and 10 of Iowa State’s 39 rebounds. When it comes to getting boards, Christofferson said, it has to be all five players working as one.

“It can’t really be just one person,” Christofferson said. “All five have to block somebody out and go get the ball; rebound out of your area.”

Iowa State will take on Carthage on Wednesday in the Cyclones’ final exhibition game. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.