When it was all said and done, the Cyclones proved too strong in the post for the Drake Bulldogs, improving to 6-1 on the year with a 70-62 victory at Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday night.

The win completed the intrastate sweep of rivals Iowa, Northern Iowa and Drake for the second consecutive season.

“That’s important to our school and it’s important to our program,” said coach Bill Fennelly. “I’m very excited to say that we did that two years in a row.”

The Bulldogs, who were picked by coaches to win the Missouri Valley Conference this season, fell to 4-2 with the loss.

Junior Toccara Ross led the Cyclones in scoring, recording a career-high 23 points. Post players Nicky Wieben and Rachel Pierson were the other Cyclones with double figures – Wieben netted 15 points and Pierson scored 11. The trio of post players combined for 49 of the team’s 70 points.

For Ross, it was her sixth consecutive game scoring double digits. Although Ross has been described as an undersized post by Fennelly, she said she brings an intensity and quickness that is difficult to defend.

“I can go inside and I can go outside. I don’t think it has anything to do with my size; it’s my effort,” Ross said. “If I want to score I’m going to score.”

Jill Martin, who led the Bulldogs in scoring through the first five games of the season, did not play because of a back injury and is expected to sit out the remainder of the season. The 6-foot-1-inch senior was averaging 20 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season.

In Martin’s absence, forward Brandy Dahir led the offensive charge for the Bulldogs. Dahir entered the game second on the team in scoring at 12.6 per contest, but bested that by scoring 15 first-half points while making her first seven shots. She finished 10 of 13 shooting for a game-high 25 points.

“Our team did a great job of getting the ball to me,” Dahir said. “Obviously we lost 20 points [losing Jill Martin] so everyone has to pick up their game.”

After being out-rebounded in the first half, the Cyclones got on the glass in the second half and finished with a 40-29 rebounding advantage.

Uncharacteristically, Iowa State made only one 3-pointer in the first half and four in the game. The Cyclones entered the game ranked sixth in the nation, making 8.8 treys a game.

Senior Lyndsey Medders dished seven assists in the game. She entered the game ranked fifth nationally in assists at 7.2 per game.

Medders and guard Heather Ezell were cold from long range, combining to go zero for 10 from 3-point range. The Cyclones finished just 4-18 from behind the arc for 22.2 percent, their lowest 3-point percentage of the season.

After the Bulldogs tied the game at 46 with under 10 minutes to play, freshman Alison Lacey knocked down a three and Pierson added a two to take a five-point lead.

The Bulldogs went back to Dahir, who made a shot to cut it to 51-48 Iowa State. The Cyclones replied when Wieben made a three to give the Cyclones a six-point advantage, 54-48. The shot was Wieben’s first three-point attempt of the year.

“I think that definitely got the home crowd into it,” Wieben said of making the 3-pointer. I think that was a little bit of a turning point.”