Behind senior Chelsea Poppens and a strong second half, Iowa State opened the regular season with a victory on Sunday afternoon. 

After a slow start — which took Iowa State (1-0) to halftime trailing 40-38 to Western Illinois (0-1) — the Cyclones hit eight 3-pointers in the second half on the way to a season-opening 84-65 victory. 

“Statistically the numbers are good, just defensively the first half [was] a little bit lax,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “Overall, a good way to start the season.”

The Cyclones went just 3-of-14 on 3-pointers in the first half, but went 8-of-15 in the second half. Six different Cyclones hit 3-pointers in the game, and the team was led by guards Nicole Blaskowsky and Brynn Williamson, who each hit three. 

Chelsea Poppens, a Preseason All-Big 12 First Team selection, started the season with a double-double. Poppens had 23 points and 15 rebounds in the win, and her first basket of the game made her the 23rd player in ISU women’s basketball history to surpass 1,000 career points. 

“It’s an honor,” Poppens said of the milestone. “I didn’t really think about it too much during the game, I was just hoping to make at least one point throughout the game.”

Iowa State was without sophomore guard Nikki Moody who remains day-to-day with a viral illness. Moody also missed the team’s second exhibition game, and freshman guard Emiah Bingley started in her place in both games. 

“Emiah stepped up big time today,” Poppens said. “She saw the court better, she’s been passing the ball better and just controlling it, keeping her dribble.”

Bingley played 37 minutes for the Cyclones and provided the team with 11 assists, the most ever for a player in their first career game. 

“That’s a lot of minutes to throw Emiah out there 37 minutes in her first college game,” Fennelly said. “But 11 assists, [she] got some steals and gave us some energy.”

That energy helped Iowa State outscore the Leathernecks 46-25 in the second half of the season opener, pushing Fennelly to 18-0 all-time at Iowa State in season-opening games. 

The Cyclones will have the week off before returning to the court next Sunday at Hilton Coliseum against North Dakota. Tipoff for that game is set for 1 p.m.