The ISU women’s basketball team used strong performances from senior Lyndsey Medders and sophomore Nicky Wieben to win its season opener, 85-62, over the Cal State Fullerton Titans on Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum.

Medders, who led the Cyclones with 24 points, started the game hot, scoring 15 points in the first half. Coach Bill Fennelly said he was pleased with her performance.

“I thought Lyndsey was really good,” Fennelly said. “She played the game the way we need to play it. She scored and she defended.”

Wieben also played well in the post, finishing the game with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Wieben thought the team’s effort was a good one for the season opener.

“It was a really good start,” Wieben said. “Everybody came out ready to play, and we were hitting the shots from outside and inside. It was a really good game overall.”

The Cyclones took advantage of a smaller Titan team, outrebounding their opponent, 44-30, and outscoring the Titans in the paint, 28-6.

Cal State Fullerton was led by Charlee Underwood, who finished with 20 points. Andrea Adams added 16 for the Titans.

Fennelly said the Cyclones did a good job defending. Titan forward and 2005 Big West Freshman of the Year, Toni Thomas, was held to 13 points after scoring 24 in Fullerton’s season opener against San Jose State.

“Defensively I thought we guarded pretty well,” Fennelly said. “We kept them off the free-throw line; we rebounded the ball pretty well. Overall, for the first game I was very pleased.”

After shooting just 23 percent from three-point range in their two exhibition contests, the Cyclones found their range against the Titans. Led by freshman Alison Lacey, Iowa State shot 44 percent from long range.

Lacey scored all 12 of her points on 3-pointers, finishing 4-of-6 from behind the arc. Lacey also pulled down nine rebounds and dished three assists.

Fennelly said he was not surprised by the way Lacey played in her first collegiate start.

“Alison is a very mature, even-keeled kid,” Fennelly said. “She came here to play, and I thought for her first start, she shot the ball great and was defending. I don’t know that she could have played much better. She’s got a chance to be a very, very, very good player.”

Iowa State took a 40-29 lead into halftime and came out of the locker room strong, starting the second half with a 12-0 run and pushing the lead to 23. The Titans used a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 14, but that was the closest they would come as the Cyclones distanced themselves by shooting 61 percent from the field in the second half.

Redshirt freshman Rachel Pierson played only 11 minutes but was efficient in the game, making four of her six shots. Sophomore Heather Ezell, who was held out of the starting lineup because of a mild concussion she suffered Sunday, added 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Next up for the Cyclones is a road game against Northern Iowa on Nov. 20.