DALLAS – She’s back.

In the ISU women’s basketball team’s 72-68 win over Texas, freshman Heather Ezell scored 19 points against the Longhorns, a career high against a Big 12 opponent.

Ezell scored a combined 17 points in her last five games before Tuesday’s 19-point performance.

The change? Ezell provided a simple explanation.

“If you lose, you’re out – no excuses,” she said. “If I was open, I knew I was going to put it in.”

The resurgence, ISU coach Bill Fennelly said, was no accident.

“We challenged Heather [Ezell] pretty hard in practice the other day, and she stepped in and hit some huge shots,” he said. “She had some looks, and she made them.”

Her five triples tied her for the most 3-pointers made in the first round of the Big 12 tournament by any one player.

Not a bad performance for her first-ever Big 12 conference tournament game.

“It’s no different – it’s getting on the floor and playing basketball,” Ezell said. “We’re playing for a little bit of pride in the Big 12.”

Her 19 points came from 6-of-8 shooting, including 5-of-7 from behind the three-point arc.

“It seemed like every shot she made was at the absolute-perfect time,” Fennelly said.

Now, after posting her best game in some time, Ezell has at least one more game to prove the Cyclones goal from day one – consistency – and to get a little revenge.

“We didn’t do great in the season,” Ezell said. “It’s a chance for us to get back at people that got us in the regular season.”