A slow first half wasn’t enough to defeat the ISU women’s basketball team on Tuesday night as the Cyclones concluded exhibition play, beating William Penn.

After defeating Northwest Missouri State by 47 points in its first exhibition game last Thursday, Iowa State beat William Penn by 43 points, 98-55, to advance to regular season play on Sunday. 

The Cyclones led by only two points, 36-34, with 54 seconds remaining in the first half. With a 6-0 run in the final minute though, Iowa State headed to halftime with an eight point lead.  

Iowa State was plagued by 11 turnovers in the first half.

“With 11 turnovers [in the first half] in the locker room we kind of talked about what we had to do instead of focusing on them,” said forward Hallie Christofferson. “We came out in the second half and just focused more on ourselves.”

The second half was a different story for the Cyclones as they turned the ball over only seven times and outscored the Lady Statesmen 56-21. Iowa State shot 17-of-24 from the field for a 70.8 shooting percentage in the second half.

The Cyclones were led by sophomore forward Fallon Ellis and junior forward Christofferson. Ellis had 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds, and Christofferson had 17 points on the night.

Ellis played 26 minutes for the Cyclones and scored 10 points in each half.

“It just actually came out of nowhere,” Ellis said of her performance. “I think it was just the first three that I had, it was my first three ever at Hilton. I was feeling it after that.”

ISU coach Bill Fennelly said Ellis can provide key minutes off the bench this season and helped Christofferson in the post on Tuesday night. 

“She’s hard to guard, she’s physical, she’s tough around the basket,” Fennelly said of Ellis. 

Sophomore guard Nikki Moody missed the game with a viral illness, and freshman guard Emiah Bingley started in her place. Bingley scored five points and had seven rebounds. 

“I think she did very well, much better than we all expected,” Ellis said of Bingley’s first start. “She stepped up, and it was also our job to help her [and] pick her up.”

Iowa State will begin its regular season on Sunday at Hilton Coliseum against Western Illinois. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.