Coming out of the holiday break, the Cyclones are now 4-1 after going 1-1 in the Reno Invitational in Reno, Nev., over the weekend. Iowa State suffered its first loss of the season to No. 16 Penn State before rebounding and defeating Butler 64-44.

“I think we played very hard in both games,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “It’s dissapointing to lose to a top 20 team because of bad free throw shooting.”

Junior forward Chelsea Poppens led the way against the Bulldogs. She finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds. That was already her third double-double of the young season.

Poppens had help from freshman point guard Nikki Moody and sophomore guard Kelsey Harris. Moody and Harris combined to go 9-12 from behind the arc. They finished with 15 and 12 points respectively.

Fennelly has been impressed with the play of Poppens so far this season.

“Poppens deserved her all-tournament selection,” Fennelly said. “She is scoring and rebounding well. I loved her passion and effort. I wish all our kids played that hard.”

Against Penn State, it was the free throw line that led to the Cyclones’ demise.

Iowa State shot 19-35 from the free throw line in the 66-59 loss. Poppens particularly struggled in that area, making just five of her 13 free throw attempts. She finished with 11 points against the Nittany Lions.

Fennelly also felt that the guard play, which has been solid early on, could have been better against Penn State. The guard trio of freshman Nikki Moody, senior Lauren Mansfield and senior Chassidy Cole shot a combined 3-18.

As a team, the Cyclones shot 32.1 percent against the Nittany Lions.

“Our guard play has been very streaky,” Fennelly said. “I thought our guards were totally outplayed against Penn State and I hope its a good learning experience for them.”

After the Reno Invitational, Fennelly saw some areas where he knows his team needs to make some improvements. He is concerned about the turnover column.

Iowa State lost the turnover battle in both contests, the Cyclones gave the ball away 16 times against Penn State and 20 against Butler.

“We need to cut down on the turnovers and shoot the ball better,” Fennelly said. “Our numbers are very low, and that’s a great concern right now.”