Twenty-one up. Twenty-one down.

The Cyclones took their turn at the plate against No. 25 Nebraska on Wednesday and failed to find themselves standing on base.

Nebraska pitcher Ashley DeBuhr tossed a perfect game in Lincoln, striking out 10 ISU batters and not allowing a Cyclone baserunner through all seven innings, leading Nebraska to a 2-0 victory.

Entering Wednesday’s game, DeBuhr was at the top of the Big 12’s strikeout charts, sitting down 173 batters in 161 innings.

“We didn’t show up, and we needed to tonight,” said ISU pitcher Alyssa Ransom. “We were able to get ourselves out of jams defensively, but we didn’t help ourselves offensively at all tonight.”

The game began in strange fashion, as it was delayed for an hour and a half because of a scheduling conflict with the umpires.

Iowa State played well defensively, allowing five hits and striking out three.

“I thought Alyssa pitched very well today, but we just didn’t make any adjustments at the plate,” said ISU coach Ruth Crowe. “Our defense got better as the game went on, but we have to have more offense if we’re going to win.”

The loss moves the Cyclones to 12-23 overall and 0-9 in the Big 12.

Nebraska struck right away, scoring one run in the first inning. Anne Steffan singled to start the inning. The Cyclones walked two to load the bases, before being allowed to score on an ISU error.

The Cornhuskers scored again in the fifth inning when Cassie Kleinsmith was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Up next for the Cyclones is a rematch with Northern Iowa on Thursday, with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. The Panthers beat the Cyclones 5-3 in extra innings on April 5.

— ISU Media Relations contributed to this article.