Three-point shooting team?

Iowa State’s Brittany Wilkins and Lisa Bildeaux beg to differ.

The pair combined for 46 points in the Cyclones 69-65 triumph over Big 12 powerhouse Texas Tech Tuesday night at Hilton Coliseum. Aside from a three by Wilkins – the sole trey the team had all night – the inside duo was the spotlight on the court.

“Our post game was amazing,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “It was great to see our post players play that good; they were fantastic.”

Iowa State’s outside game, normally its driving force and go-to plan, was stripped by aggressive ball pressure from Texas Tech (12-11, 7-5 Big 12). The Cyclones (15-8, 6-6) sealed their all-around prowess with the tremendous game from their post players.

“Marsha [Sharp] took away our bread and butter, and that left it open in the middle a lot for us,” Wilkins said. “It proves we don’t live and die by the three-point shot.”

The duo catapulted the Cyclones solid first-half start with the team’s first 13 points, until fellow post Nicky Wieben received a dish below the basket from Wilkins.

The two remained consistent and added much needed pressure down low against LaToya Davis, the Red Raiders’ leading scorer with 19.3 points per game. She was virtually silent in the contest, scraping together 11 points against an unforgiving Cyclone defense.

“LaToya [Davis] impacts a game dramatically, and we knew we had to double team her,” Fennelly said. “We didn’t let her get a lot of transition baskets, which she and Erin [Grant] do so well together.”

Iowa State began the game in zone defense, but could not contain the three-point game the Red Raiders were delivering. Texas Tech’s Alesha Robertson, who drained the first three points of the game, connected on three treys in the first half. Grant and Brooke Baughman combined for five more behind the arc.

“We felt that was the way to play in the first half, but we ended up being in the wrong places at the wrong times,” Fennelly said.

After trailing the Red Raiders 34-29 at the half, Iowa State’s man defense became integral, and Texas Tech scored only one more three in the game.

Lyndsey Medders, who was a quiet force with 13 points, sank two consecutive shots after a basket by Wilkins, leading to a 12-0 Cyclone run. With the score looming at 49-47, Wilkins improved that lead with the next nine ISU points, including the team’s elusive three-pointer.

“We didn’t panic because we weren’t making the three,” Fennelly said. “We knew that if they played us that way, we were going to ram it in there and get to the free-throw line.”

The Cyclones did just that, making 17-of-18 free throws in the second half to win its third straight, after hard-fought victories over Missouri and Kansas State.

Bildeaux crushed her previous career-high of 15 points with 22, as well as garnering her first double-double with 10 rebounds.

“This was a game that showed we got each other’s backs,” Bildeaux said. “Games like this have to come sometime, and it shows that no matter what, we’re going to come back and keep fighting.”

Defensive-minded Megan Ronhovde added eight boards for Iowa State, while Medders chipped in seven assists on the night.

Grant, whose shots couldn’t miss in the second half, led Texas Tech with 21 points and nine assists, and Robertson finished with four threes and 20 points.

Fennelly said the game was one that the team needed in front of its crowd, and the adjustments it made were a credit to the chemistry of the team.

“To play a team so talented and well-coached, this is something all our kids can build on,” he said. “Solid teams find a way to win a game.”