In the first of two exhibition games to begin the 2012-13 season, the ISU women’s basketball team cruised to a victory as new players saw the court for the first time in an Iowa State uniform. 

Iowa State beat Northwest Missouri State 80-33 on Thursday night at Hilton Coliseum. In the victory three new players made their Cyclones debuts including freshmen Nicole Blaskowsky and Emiah Bingley and junior transfer Ashley Hagedorn. 

“The main thing was to have an experience where everyone got to play,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “We predetermined every four minutes what we were going to do.” 

Fennelly subbed often and every player — with the exception of freshman Madison Baier who was injured — scored in the game. 

“All of our kids deserved to play, they worked really hard and it’s neat that everyone got in the game and got to score,” Fennelly said.

The Cyclones were led by senior forward Chelsea Poppens, who scored 22 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Poppens, a member of the Preseason All-Big 12 First Team, was the only player in the Big 12 last season to average a double-double.

The team’s three newcomers contributed a combined 16 points and 12 rebounds. Blaskowsky led the way with 11 points and five rebounds, Bingley contributed two points and five rebounds and Hageorn added three points. 

“I was a little nervous at the beginning, I’m not going to lie,” Blaskowsky said. “I’m not satisfied because it’s just the beginning, there’s a lot to build on as a team.”

During the last two years, Hagedorn played for Des Moines Area Community College where she averaged 12.3 points per game as a sophomore. The junior walked on to the team in May and earned a scholarship on Oct. 5.

Poppens said all three newcomers played well in their debuts. 

“They showed a lot of poise,” Poppens said. “They saw the court better than I thought they might for their first exhibition game. I’m impressed.”

While everybody played on Thursday night, Fennelly said that won’t necessarily be the case in the team’s second exhibition game. 

“We will play that game just like a regular season game, we’re not going to script it, we’re going to play it real,” Fennelly said. “Some of our starters need to get more minutes conditioning-wise.” 

Iowa State will play its final tuneup game on Tuesday against William Penn at 7 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum. The regular season begins on Nov. 11 at home against Western Illinois.