Iowa State began its season with a 3-pointer from senior forward Hallie Christofferson and sophomore guard Nicole “Kidd” Blaskowsky added another one just minutes later.

It was much of the same for Iowa State throughout the game.

The ISU women’s basketball team (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) defeated North Dakota (0-1, 0-0 Big Sky) 84-55 on Sunday. The Cyclones got their first win of the season and Christofferson scored a career-high 32 points.

“The things [Christofferson] does for this team is really special. We all know how good she is but it’s nice to see her put up those kind of number so maybe some of the people in the rest of the country will realize how good she is,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “This team loves Hallie.”

Iowa State was leading most of the first half with only three total lead changes. North Dakota narrowed the gap to three points with just more than four minutes left in the half.

The Cyclones held North Dakota to just three points in the final four minutes of the first half. Iowa State led 47-35 at half time, and Christofferson had 14 points and six rebounds.

Iowa State started the second half in foul trouble. Both juniors Nikki Moody and Brynn Williamson got their third fouls early on. Despite the trouble, Iowa State went on to out-score North Dakota 37-20 in the second half.

Christofferson continued her high scoring into the second half. In addition to her 32 total points on the night, she had 11 rebounds and shot three for seven from beyond the arc by the end of the game.

“It’s always awesome to see [Christofferson] succeed on the court,” Blaskowsky said. “She’s a big part of this team. It’s great to know that we have a post player that’s willing to fight for us. That’s where the trust comes along, and that’s what builds a team.”

Blaskowsky was even better for Iowa State from 3-point range. She led the team with four total 3-pointers and added 11 rebounds from off the bench for her first career double-double.

Blaskowsky took two charges during the game. Christofferson credits Blaskowsky’s effort as inspiration for the ISU defense during the game.

“I got a lot of energy from Kidd [Blaskowsky] when she took those two charges,” Christofferson said. “Everybody was fired up. She was definitely fired up, you could tell. It starts with her energy, and it just spreads throughout all the defense.”