The action may have been sloppy at times, but the athleticism and size of the ISU women’s basketball team was too much for Mississippi Valley State to handle in the Cyclones’ return to Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday night.

While the Cyclones (4–1) turned the ball over 12 times in their first home game since Nov. 15, they still managed to hold their opponents to just 31.5 percent shooting from the floor en route to a 83–44 manhandling of the Devilettes (2–2) in front of 9,646 fans at Hilton Coliseum.

The majority of the sloppy play came from the post, where many of the minutes are being played by three freshmen while they are still tying to learn and adjust to a new style of basketball.

“The thing that disappointed me most in the first half was that our post play wasn’t very good,” coach Bill Fennelly said. “We had seven turnovers and five of them were from post players, and we were 6–16 from the field in the post against a team that shouldn’t alter our shots as much as they did.”

However, the defense still managed to dominate down low all night, with 57 total rebounds and a 40–18 advantage on points in the paint. Every ISU player grabbed at least one rebound in the game and the Cyclones had nearly as many offensive rebounds as a team, 24, as the Devilettes managed to get on both sides of the ball in the entire game, 27.

“Coach has really been emphasizing rebounding,” junior Kelsey Bolte said. “The biggest thing is to be more consistent. Some of us will have eight [rebounds] one night and three the next, so being consistent is a big emphasis for us right now.”  

Iowa State wasted little time jumping all over the Devilettes early in the first half, using a quick offensive attack that fueled a 43–13 lead at halftime. Ten Cyclones found their way into the scoring column Tuesday night, with six of them reaching double digits. It was the first time since January of 2006 that Iowa State had six players finish in double figures.

Senior point guard Alison Lacey turned in another fine performance for the Cyclones, notching 10 points and 10 assists for her second double-double of the season. Lacey has scored in double digits in all five games this season. 

After watching several games from the stands prior to her career at Iowa State, freshman Amanda Zimmerman finally got her first taste of regular season action at home due to her early season ankle injury. The injury hasn’t allowed Zimmerman to play at 100 percent yet this season, but the forward is slowly making advances toward becoming full strength. 

“The ankle is feeling great, but our trainer still wants to keep it steady because it’s still a little weak,” Zimmerman said. “Because of it I’ll probably be wearing a brace for the next couple of weeks.”