For a season that was limited on expectations, the ending hurt just the same.

The ISU women’s basketball team suffered its final loss of the season, a 69-63 overtime heartbreaker to 20-10 Marquette in the second round of the WNIT. The Cyclones wrapped up their 18-13 season with another bittersweet finale on their hands – the loss of senior Brittany Wilkins.

“We’re very proud of her and she had a phenomenal senior season,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “She set the bar very high for someone else to take her minutes.”

Marquette showed it was just as anxious to stay in tournament play early in the game when freshman phenom Krystal Ellis hit a three. Iowa State took the lead after Megan Ronhovde hit a three of her own, followed by Wilkins’ first two points of the game.

The Cyclones struggled early with Marquette’s suffocating defense, feeling the half-court pressure with eight first-half turnovers. The team stumbled with creating shots until two straight baskets from Lisa Bildeaux.

The Golden Eagles, however, had an answer for nearly every ISU shot, edging the Cyclones 29-25 at halftime.

“They’re very balanced and they didn’t do anything we didn’t plan for,” Fennelly said.

“We did our best to keep fighting and clawing, and we got a lot of great looks at the basket that we struggled to make.”

A three-point play from Ronhovde early in the second half put Iowa State within three, and after a Marquette basket, Wilkins narrowed it to two with a shot from behind the arc.

Two plays later, fellow forward Bildeaux dropped a trey of her own, but the Cyclones still couldn’t break into the lead.

Wilkins and Lyndsey Medders, who was playing limited minutes with a foot injury, continued to create points for Iowa State, and Medders again brought the team within striking distance with a three, at 51-49.

Medders tied the score at 53, and Ellis again upped the ante for a crucial 58-56 lead. Medders hit a jumper with 45 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

“We wanted to win so bad for the seniors, and I think that’s what had us pulling it together,” Bildeaux said.

After successful free throws from Bildeaux and Nicky Wieben, the Cyclones regained the ball on a critical possession that could tie the game.

A failed three by Bildeaux and several slippery lay-ups allowed Marquette two easy lay-ins and sealed the game.

“They are a good team, well-coached and No. 20 [Ellis] hit the shots at the end,” Medders said. “It’s frustrating when you make a run and they come back every time. They were very well balanced and could attack you from all five players.”

Medders finished with 16 points in 26 minutes, and Bildeaux followed with 15. Ronhovde jumped into double digits with 10, and Wieben tallied four blocked shots. Wilkins capped her career with 13 points and six rebounds in her final appearance at Hilton Coliseum.

Ellis connected on a game-high 22 points and was 4-for-9 from behind the arc.

Jasmine McCullough, Carolyn Kieger and Christina Quaye combined for 34 points, each in double figures.

Fennelly said the loss is not the way anyone wanted to finish, but he has nothing but accolades for the team with small expectations.

“Tonight was mainly about our two great seniors, and I’m proud of how hard we played,” he said. “I don’t think we have anything to apologize for, and I hope the players judge themselves in a positive way.

“We couldn’t have done much more.”