Senior women’s basketball player Toccara Ross played just 12 minutes, scored two points and pulled down three rebounds on Thursday against Northern Iowa.

The game against the Panthers, however, meant much more to Ross, because she was back on the floor doing what she loves again.

“I had to get into the flow of the game because, honestly, I didn’t expect to play,” Ross said. “I was a little surprised to get in today, but I was really glad to be out there.”

Coach Bill Fennelly said it was great to see Ross get back on the floor because she adds to the multitude of weapons the Cyclones have at their disposal.

“It’s obviously special when you have someone get hurt and come back and play,” Fennelly said. “I think everyone felt that way; the crowd went crazy when she got in the game.”

Ross went down with a season-ending ACL injury against Minnesota on Dec.21, 2007. Ross had the knee surgically repaired and received a medical redshirt from the NCAA, which allowed her to come back and play another year for the Cyclones.

“We have to ease her back into it,” Fennelly said. “It was nice to see her make a shot and get back into the flow of things.”

Ross said she doesn’t normally get scared during games, but when Fennelly called her name to go in for the first time, the feeling hit.

“I was petrified when he called my name to go in,” Ross said. “It was good to knock one down, and I really feel like I helped my team today.”

Before being able to open the season, Ross had to have arthroscopic surgery on the same, injured knee, missing most of the preseason practices and both of the team’s exhibition games. Ross suited for the first time this season in Sunday’s season-opener against the University of Missouri-Kansas City, but took the floor for the first time against the Panthers.

Ross received a standing ovation from the ISU contingent of fans when she took the floor for the first time.

Ross said she appreciated the support that she has received in her recovery from the fans as well as the ISU basketball family.

“Every fan I have talked to, they have been so helpful; they always ask me how I am doing,”  Ross said. “They were definitely ready for me to get back on the court and it helped having them there.”

Cyclones dominate glass again

For the second straight game, Iowa State nearly doubled up an undersized team in rebounding on both ends of the floor.

The Cyclones out-rebounded UNI 53-29 after out-rebounding UMKC 59-33 and also had a 30-14 advantage in points in the paint against the Panthers.

Fennelly said the dominance in rebounding allowed his team to jump start its fast break offense.

“You want to reward your team if they make the effort, defensively,” Fennelly said. “We’re going to do the little things right, and that’s how we play here — we don’t do anything fancy.”

Freshman Ashley Arlen and junior Alison Lacey were in double-digit points but struggled in shooting against the Panthers, only accounting for 11 points combined. Both players made up for it on the glass, with double-digit performances and Arlen corralling 11 rebounds, Lacey pulling down 10. Arlen is averaging in double figures in rebounds in her first two career games.

“Our kids believe in the system and what we’re doing and they showed that tonight,” Fennelly said.

Dominating win sends Iowa State into Thanksgiving break 2-0

Iowa State’s win Thursday started off a six-game road trip in dominant fashion, as the Cyclones will take on another Missouri Valley Conference opponent, Creighton (0-2), on Sunday in Omaha.

One of Creighton’s two losses, however, was a tight five-point loss to Nebraska on Monday.

“The big thing about Creighton is they are a lot like UNI,” senior guard Heather Ezell said. “They like to dribble and shoot the three; we were able to control that for the most part tonight, so hopefully we can carry that into Sunday.”

After the Creighton matchup, the Cyclones will travel to Hawaii for the Thanksgiving holiday for a three-game tournament, in which they will take on defending national runner-up Stanford and Mountain West Conference favorite San Diego State.