CEDAR FALLS — At the first media time-out, the score was Kelsey Bolte 14, Northern Iowa 5. In her eight minutes on the floor, the sophomore took five shots and found the bottom of the net on every one.

“It’s great when have someone on fire like that early in the game,” senior guard Heather Ezell said. “We were able to get the ball to her and she knocked them down for us. It’s always nice to get that early lead so everybody calms down and we get some confidence and momentum going our way.”

The No. 24 Cyclones hit seven of their first eight shots in the game, four of which were dialed in from long distance. Iowa State (2-0) led by as much as 20 in the first half against UNI, and pulled away in the second half for a 79-54 thrashing of the Panthers on Thursday in Cedar falls.

“When you’re on the road, we talked about how important the first few minutes of the game are,” said coach Bill Fennelly. “But I don’t think we could have anticipated that kind of start. The players who aren’t going to get credit because Kelsey was knocking down all of the shots defended out of their minds. You don’t get ahead 18-3 without doing it at both ends of the court.”

Iowa State also came out hot at the start of the second half, knocking down four of its first five shots to pave the way for a 15-2 run, as the Cyclones jumped out to a 54-21 advantage. And while the Cyclone offense was busy carving up the floor, Iowa State’s defense was putting on a show as well. The Cyclones suffocated the Panther offense from the beginning — and held them to 32.2 percent shooting from the floor.  

“We did a good job of controlling their best players,” Ezell said. “We didn’t want to let [Nicole Clausen] get hot from the three-point line, and we knew [K.K. Armstrong] was going to try to dictate the game, and we managed to stop both of them.” 

The Cyclones found a way to stifle the UNI junior Clausen, who hit six treys in the Panthers’ season opener against North Dakota State. Clausen made only one of six shots, and finished the game with just three points. They also held Armstrong to 3 of 13 shooting, with just one assist and three turnovers.

This marked the first of three in-state rivalries for the Cyclones this season, as well as the first road test.

“A lot of people outside the state of Iowa don’t realize how important these games are,” Fennelly said. “It’s important to our fans and our school, and it’s noticeable with all of the people that came out to watch the game tonight. It’s a great rivalry and very important for us to win.”

The game marked the beginning of a tough nonconference stretch that will surely dictate what kind of rhythm the team finds before the conference season begins. Thirteen players logged minutes on the court for the Cyclones, and coach Fennelly liked what he saw from each of them in this key early season matchup.

“There’s a lot of good things that happened tonight for our team,” Fennelly said. “There’s 200 minutes between now and the end of November, and those three hours or so are really going to impact our season.”

Next, Iowa State travels to Ohmaha Neb. to play the Creighton Bluejays, the preseason No. 2 pick in the MVC. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. Sunday.