The send-off for the ISU seniors could not have been any sweeter.

Iowa State rallied to defeat Oklahoma State 73-70 in the regular-season finale on Monday night at Hilton Coliseum. All three of the ISU seniors started the game, and all three had their senior night end in a memorable way with “Hilton Magic” alive and well.

“I think the emotion of trying to play for second [place], senior night, last game of the season, coming off a loss — it was a game that kind of went back and forth and the last 12 minutes of the game I thought both teams played as hard as they could play,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. 

“The fans were amazing as always but it just seemed another level.”

The Cyclones (21-7, 12-6 Big 12), who were down by 13 points in the opening minutes of the second half to the Cowgirls (20-9, 9-9 Big 12), used a 21-point effort by forward Hallie Christofferson to push for a win.

Christofferson also finished with six rebounds and was 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. As a team, Iowa State was 19-of-20 from the free-throw line. The junior forward noted how crucial each free-throw attempt was.

“You have to want to step up to the line because you know you’re going to make them,” Christofferson said. “That was just key tonight. The people that stepped up there knew that everybody was behind them and we had their back.”

In the final home game of her collegiate career, forward Chelsea Poppens scored in double figures for the 16th time this season, tallying 18 points and adding eight rebounds. Poppens described the game as a perfect way to end her home career in Hilton Coliseum.

“I imagine [the win] felt like what winning state in high school feels like,” Poppens said. “I never really got that. It was just awesome, we were all jumping around and jumping onto each other. It was just so much fun to play that kind of a game with that much pressure on you and come out on top.”

With the win Monday night, the Cyclones secured the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 tournament this weekend and will face the winner of the game between Kansas and TCU on Saturday.

Fellow senior Anna Prins earned 15 points and five assists, a career-high in her home finale. The senior said after the game that Hilton Magic was alive and well and thanked the crowd for all of the support the team had in its emotional win.

“I haven’t heard Hilton that loud in a while,” Prins said. “I was trying to call out screens and I couldn’t even hear myself. It was awesome. A huge thank you to the fans; that was an amazing game, and they are a huge reason why we get wins like that.”