With only six games left in the regular season and only three games separating No. 3 Nebraska (24–0, 11–0 in Big 12) and 13th-ranked Iowa State (19–5, Big 12 7–4), the Cyclones entered Wednesday’s game in Lincoln needing a victory to stay within reach of first place.

But, if playing in front of a raucous Nebraska crowd of 10,988 was not enough, Iowa State was dealt a much bigger blow when it found out a concussion suffered during Tuesday’s practice would sideline leading scorer and team captain Alison Lacey.

“It was a huge loss, as you can tell by our turnover numbers,” said coach Bill Fennelly. “Nebraska’s defense took advantage of those bad decisions by us. I think we have to play better as a group and every single person has to touch the ball at least once if not more. As a team when you’re facing pressure defense and your primary ball handler is not involved, you’re going to struggle.”

The Cyclones missed Lacey’s leadership during some of the game’s most crucial moments and lost their fifth game of the season, 60–50.

Fennelly was forced to shuffle point guard duties between Denae Stuckey, Whitney Williams and Chassidy Cole.

All three had big numbers to make up for, as Lacey is sixth in the Big 12 in scoring and first in assist to turnover ratio.

However, the trio combined for just nine points and five assists while turning the ball over 10 times.

“We don’t have a lot of other ball handlers who can handle that kind of pressure,” Fennelly said. “It was a major loss for our team. It was a big loss, she’s our point guard and our primary ball handler. When other kids have to do other things, that could create some problems.”

One of the continuing themes throughout this game seemed to be Iowa State’s inability to gain any momentum.

During the first half, the Cyclones were able to turn an early 12–5 deficit into a one-point lead. But at 19–18, that would be the last lead Iowa State would have the entire game.

Nebraska scored the last nine points of the half and took a 27–19 lead into halftime. That — along with an 11–3 run during the second half — would be two of the biggest offensive runs Nebraska had during the game. Each of them would come when the Cyclones seemed to be climbing back into the game.

“Offensively when [Lacey] isn’t in the game, we’re not a very efficient or smooth,” Fennelly said. “We missed some shots that we need to make. Nebraska’s a very good defensive and they guard us very well. At times we didn’t attack their pressure with some offensive pressure. We had opportunities to make plays and we didn’t.”

Freshman guard Lindsey Moore was a big reason why the Cyclones could never regain the lead. Moore scored 15 of her 18 points in the second half, taking over the scoring load for the Big 12’s third leading scorer Kelsey Griffin, who had just 11 points.

“All of [Moore’s] points were my responsibility,” Fennelly said. “She came into the game averaging four a game and shooting 18 percent from beyond the arc. So we felt we had to double off of her and help on Griffin and some of the other players. Great teams have people step in to different roles and play well and to her credit, she did that.”

Even though the game did not end the way the Cyclones would have hoped, they still received strong efforts from guards Kelsey Bolte and Jessica Schroll. Bolte led the team with 15 points, including four 3-pointers, while Schroll had 14 points and four assists.

With no indication as to how long the Cyclones will be without Lacey, the team will need performances like the ones they got from Bolte and Schroll for the rest of the season.