Cyclones fall short in Norman
February 5, 2011
Iowa State’s three-game winning streak came to an end Saturday against No. 13 Oklahoma. The Cyclones (16-6, 4-4 Big 12) took the Sooners (17-5, 7-2) down to the final seconds before falling short 65-62 in Norman.
Senior shooting guard Kelsey Bolte led the way for the Cyclones with 23 points and seven rebounds. Freshman forward Hallie Christofferson continued her consistently solid play with 14 points and four rebounds.
Junior point guard Lauren Mansfield finished with eight points and four assists.
Oklahoma was led by point guard Danielle Robinson with 20 points and four assists. Whitney Hand and Aaryn Ellenburg chipped in with 10 and 15 points.
Oklahoma jumped out to a 14-6 run to start the game, but Iowa State battled back on the strength of Christofferson and Bolte. Iowa State pulled within 5 to 29-24, but the Sooners buried three three-pointers in the final minute of the half, making it 38-24 at the break.
The Cycones went on an 11-3 run in the middle of the second half, capitalizing on two Christofferson free throws to put them up 57-56 with 4:31 remaining.
The teams continued to trade baskets in the final minutes. Sophomore forward Chelsea Poppens rebounded a Mansfield miss and put the Cyclones up 62-59 with 58 seconds left.
With Iowa State being in the bonus on the foul situation, the Sooners were able to draw a foul on Bolte, who was called for a loose ball foul going for the rebound on the possession.
That put Robinson on the line for the Oklahoma. She sank both free throws to cut the Cyclone lead to 62-61 with 45 seconds left. Oklahoma then forced a turnover by stealing the ball from Bolte as she cut into the lane.
Following a timeout from Oklahoma, Jessica Schroll committed a foul and sent Robinson to the line again. Robinson sank both free throws to put the Sooners up 63-62 with 27 seconds left.
On Iowa State’s next possession, Mansfield got an open shot from behind the arc with 11 seconds left, but was unable to convert. Poppens fouled to send Oklahoma’s Jasmine Hartman to the line. She sank both free throws to make the score 65-62 Sooners.
Iowa State had one more chance with eight seconds left on the clock, but was unable to get a shot off and Oklahoma prevailed.