The ISU women’s basketball team gave No. 1 Baylor a run for its money on Saturday night at Hilton Coliseum, but Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Brittney Griner’s 26 points and defensive presence proved too much.

ISU coach Bill Fennelly said in the postgame news conference that Griner was the “most unique” player he had ever seen, and Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said players like that change the game from top to bottom.

“Well, I’ve said it from the time [Griner] stepped on campus at Baylor, she changes the way I have to coach, she changes the way the game has to be officiated and she changes the way the opposing coaches have to attack Baylor,” Mulkey said.

Up until the final five minutes of the game, it was still anybody’s to win. But every time Iowa State (9-4, 0-2 Big 12) put together a scoring run, Griner was quick to step in and get the Lady Bears (15-0, 2-0) back on the board.

“I think when they have players like Brittney Griner, it’s kind of hard to get stops consecutively,” said guard Lauren Mansfield, who added 10 points off the bench for the Cyclones. “Great players are going to make great plays, so it’s hard to keep fighting and fighting because they are going to make those plays.”

Center Anna Prins, who stands at 6 feet 7 inches, got the challenge of defending the 6-foot-8-inch Griner for most of the night while tallying 17 points and six rebounds. It’s not very often that Griner matches up with someone so close in height, but she said that doesn’t alter her game plan.

“If it’s working, it’s going to continue to work, but I love going up against players that are my size and not the shorter ones, so I liked going up against Prins,” Griner said.

Griner didn’t put up 40 points again like she did last season or collect 21 rebounds like she did her freshman year, but she did go 8-of-10 from the free-throw line, which Fennelly said was a focus Saturday night.

“The biggest thing that we told our players is try not to foul her and don’t give her an offensive rebound, because you can’t prevent her from shooting,” Fennelly said. “The offensive rebounds, the free throws and our inability to shoot the ball I think were the three big-picture things that determined the outcome of the game.”

Prins was in the starting lineup for just the second time this season and she said it helped her become a little more relaxed all over the court.

“I’m getting more comfortable playing inside and outside,” Prins said.

Mulkey made it clear to her team that ISU forward Chelsea Poppens was a target for them in making sure she didn’t get into a scoring rhythm, and her two points were evidence of that. However, she did end up with eight rebounds and a career-high six steals as well.

Saturday’s game is one where the box score won’t tell very much of the story. Despite losing 57-45, Iowa State made more 3s, got more steals and tied the Lady Bears in the turnover margin, but missed shots and had fewer free-throw attempts.

Fennelly said he was very proud with how his team competed against the best team in the country Saturday night and there are a lot of positives to take away from the game.

The Cyclones will get their next chance to put a tally in the conference win column at 7 p.m. Wednesday, when they head to Lawrence, Kan., to take on Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse.