The ISU women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome another hot-shooting opponent on Wednesday night, falling hard on the road to No. 22 Kansas State, 80-49.

For the second straight game, the Cyclones fell behind early, surrendering a 14-0 run in the first half to give Kansas State a 19-4 edge. The Cyclones went down, 20-5, in the early stages of Saturday’s home game against Nebraska.

Kansas State also had as much as a 37-point margin when a 17-0 second-half run put the Cyclones in a 59-22 hole.

The Wildcats (13-5, 5-0 Big 12) made 12 of 21 shots from behind the arc (57.1%) and won the rebounding battle, 38-28, to hand the Cyclones (12-6, 1-4) their third consecutive defeat.

Kansas State has surpassed all expectations in a wild start of the conference season, shooting to the top of the standings after being voted ninth in the preseason conference poll.

Kimberly Dietz scored 16 points to lead the Wildcats, who had three players score in double figures. Dietz had nine points during Kansas State’s 17-0 run.

Kelsey Bolte was the lone bright spot for the Cyclones, as she continued her hot streak in conference games, scoring a game-high 17 points. Averaging 20.2 points per game in the conference season, it was the back-to-back conference Rookie of the Week’s lowest point total so far in her last five games.

Jocelyn Anderson also added seven points for the Cyclones. Anderson was also able to contribute seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots while filling in for the injured Nicky Wieben.

Iowa State turned the ball over 17 times, compared to just 8 assists, and shot just 36% (18/50) from the floor.

The loss was Iowa State’s worst since the 2003-04 season, when the Cyclones lost on the road to the same Wildcats, 68-33. This loss is also the Cyclones’ worst start in conference play in over 10 years, when they started the 1995-96 season 1-5.

Iowa State started last season 1-3 in the conference but rebounded to a 10-6 Big 12 record and a second-round finish in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cyclones will have a week off to try to rebound before coming home to face Colorado next Wednesday in Hilton Coliseum.