No matter what curveball each game throws at it, Iowa State continually finds alternative ways to win.

The action on the court certainly wasn’t pretty Saturday night, but a tough defensive effort and a solid performance from the free-throw line propelled the No. 15 Cyclones to a 48–39 victory over Kansas State (12–16, 4–10 Big 12).

While defense continues to be a strong suit for the Cyclones (22–5, 10–4), who lead the Big 12 by giving up just 52.4 points per game, their offense continues to be unpredictable.

But despite being erratic, the offense has managed to finds ways to overcome their problems on any given night.

In three of its last four victories, Iowa State has produced a trio of vastly different methods of winning, each one just as effective as the last.

“Good teams find a way to win those games,” said coach Bill Fennelly. “We had the right shots, but when you aren’t making shots you have to find other ways to score. So we defended great, took care of the ball and got to the free-throw line.”

Chelsea Poppens continues to be a bright spot, as the freshman led the way with a game-high 18 points and team-high seven rebounds.

Poppens stepped up with numerous big plays for the Cyclones, who were reeling from top scorer Alison Lacey’s poor 3-of-17 shooting performance.

While the rest of the offense sputtered, Poppens stepped up during key sequences in the game by grabbing offensive rebounds and fighting through two or three defenders to score with a put back.

“For [Lacey] and I to have an offensive night when none of our shots were falling, it was big to have Chelsea step up like she did,” said Kelsey Bolte, who shoot just 3-of-13 from the field. “She had a couple of huge rebounds, and for her to make the difference in the game was really big for our team.”

Poppens was the only player in double digits for Iowa State, which scored the majority of its points in the second half from the charity stripe, making 12-of-13 shots down the stretch.

Iowa State was 15-of-18 from the free-throw line in the game, while the Wildcats made just two of three.

It took more than 11 minutes for the Cyclones to score in the second half, as the team shot just 4-of-21 from the field after halftime, and was 16-of-49 in the game.

“We just couldn’t make a shot to save our lives,” said Bolte, who also scored her 1,000th career point in the game. “But luckily we were able to defend pretty well and were able to hang on to our lead.”

This game was in stark contrast to recent victories over Baylor and Missouri, in which Iowa State used two completely different offensive tactics to get wins.

Against Baylor, the Cyclones used their well-known shooting talent to knock down 16 3-pointers, coming off of 23 assists on 25 made field goals. During their next three wins, however, Iowa State converted on just nine of 47 3-point attempts.

Last weekend’s game against Missouri brought focus to the inside game, where the Cyclones outscored the Tigers 34–16 in the paint.

The inability to make shots from the field forced Iowa State to control the free-throw line against Kansas State, where the Cyclones took advantage of every opportunity they were given for free points.

The Cyclones also had a mere eight assists on their 16 field goals, which is seven assists below their season average.

But no matter what offense shows up, Iowa State’s tough-as-nails defense can always make up for whatever happens on the other end of the floor.

“We have told our kids from day one that we felt we had to be a better defense than we have been in the past,” Fennelly said. “Because we don’t have a lot of scorers, there’s no guarantee. So we had to embrace the fact that we need to defend.”

The final road match of the season awaits Iowa State on Wednesday, when it travels to Stillwater, Okla., to face No. 23 Oklahoma State.