Cyclones get win No. 20 over Wildcats

Dan Tracy

Iowa State picked up its first road win in a month as tough defense and 33 combined points from Kelsey Bolte and Lauren Mansfield keyed a 58-51 victory over Kansas State on Saturday.

The Cyclones (20-8, 8-6 Big 12) locked up their fifth-consecutive 20-win season with the win in Manhattan, Kan.

“It was just a grind-it-out, do-anything-to-win kind of game,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “I was very proud of our effort. We beat a very good team.”

Iowa State got over its three-game road losing streak in Big 12 play with a stiff defensive effort as they held the Wildcats (18-9, 8-6) to 36.4 percent shooting and didn’t allow a 3-point field goal until 3:47 remaining in the game.

“When you go on the road and you hold their field goal percentage down and your field goal percentage is decent, you are in the game,” Fennelly said.

After scoring only two first-half points, Bolte, the Cyclones’ leading scorer at 17.6 points per game, came alive in the second half as she nailed four 3-pointers en route to scoring 17 in the second half.

“I was not very confident in the first half – I could not hit anything; in the second half I told myself to just keep shooting, and coach told me to keep shooting, and that’s what I did,” Bolte said.

The Wildcats brought Iowa State’s lead down to 53-49 with 23 seconds remaining, but five combined free throws by Mansfield and Bolte helped the Cyclones hang on for their third consecutive Big 12 win.

“We certainly made enough hustle plays down the stretch to keep us in the game and get a good win for our team,” Fennelly said.

KSU forward Jalana Childs, who had 21 points in the first meeting of the two teams, led the Wildcats with 18 points. Taelor Carr also had a great all-around performance for the Wildcats with 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the loss.

The Cyclones will host their final game of the regular season Tuesday night against Kansas (19-9, 6-8).