MINNEAPOLIS – The magic is over.

Runner-up in the Big 12 tournament, first- round NCAA winners and an enthralling end-of-season conference streak. All these titles came to a culmination Monday night at Williams Arena in Minneapolis as the ISU women’s basketball team suffered a season-ending loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 3 seed Georgia.

Georgia (27-6) proved to be the superior team by rolling over the No. 6 Cyclones 76-56. The team, headed by Hall of Fame coach Andy Landers, did everything right to thwart Iowa State’s bid for the Sweet Sixteen.

“Georgia is an outstanding team, and we couldn’t do anything right to stop them,” ISU coach Bill Fennelly said. “Let’s face it, they’re a better team than us, and they imposed their will on us early.”

The Cyclones were fresh off of a 79-60 win over Washington, and would soon feel the wrath they themselves inflicted on the Huskies.

Georgia announced itself and its intentions early in the game, and the game continued to be one-sided until the end. Georgia’s Janese Hardrick opened the game with a three, and the Bulldogs clipped off eight straight points. Only interrupted by baskets from Lyndsey Medders and Rachel Pierson, the score was soon a lopsided 29-4. Georgia ran the floor like a team on fire and shot the ball in transition, leaving Iowa State unable to match the pace or the intensity.

Despite surviving the early onslaught from Washington in the first round, Iowa State knew that with a program like Georgia, a repeat would be a near impossible feat.

“We knew we couldn’t survive a knockout punch,” Medders said. “You can’t do that with a team like Georgia, and it’s a tough hole to dig yourself out of.”

Iowa State continued to score sporadically through Georgia’s consistency, but was unable to gain any ground and went into half down 51-27. The Bulldogs’ constant pressure on defense and resistance to give up Iowa State an open perimeter shot left the hope of a second-half comeback dismal.

“Obviously it was their game plan to keep on us from the perimeter,” senior Megan Ronhovde said. “When we did get an open look, it had to be such a quick release because you knew someone was coming after you.”

With ragged scoring and a gaping margin, the team and fans could only brace themselves for the inevitable outcome of the game, and of the team’s celebratory 26-9 season.

“That opening was a stunner,” Fennelly said. “We tried every defense on them that we could think of and then some. We kept scrapping and fighting, but there was no question we had no answer to them early.”

A double punch from senior Cori Chambers and junior Tasha Humphrey kept the Cyclones beat both outside and inside. Chambers, whom Iowa State failed to keep in check from the perimeter, scored 18 points on the night. Humphrey’s size and strength down low provided too much of a challenge to the ISU post players. After a slow start with six points at halftime, she lit up the paint in the second half with 15.

“There’s a lot more credit to Georgia for what they did than what we didn’t do,” Fennelly said. “Our game plan was to make Chambers dribble every time she touched the ball, and we didn’t do it. They outplayed us in a lot of ways, and they made us pay for it.”

No matter how much momentum Iowa State gained in the second half, Georgia was there with an answer. Freshman guard Ashley Houts rounded out the Bulldogs’ scoring with 14 points, and the team finished shooting 61.3 percent from the floor.

Despite the end of his team’s quest for the top, Fennelly said it is important to remember the season his team had, and the ranks of great players they have joined. He said the consolation for a loss of this measure is hard to come by, but he told his team the same mantra he’s told teams before at the cap of a season.

“I tell them, ‘Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.’ If you’re a player, an Iowa State fan, a fan of young, quality people and women’s basketball, then you should be smiling because of what the players on this team did,” he said. “I’m sorry to see it end, but I’m very proud of what they accomplished.”