Women beat Missouri, end skid
February 24, 2005
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Anne O’Neil hit two 3-pointers in the final minute and a half to help No. 21 Iowa State beat Missouri 76-70 Wednesday night.
O’Neil hit one from the left wing with 1:26 left to put the Cyclones ahead 71-70. On the next possession, she came off a screen and hit a 3 from the right wing. O’Neil, the fifth leading scorer in the Big 12 at 16.6 points per game, finished with 20 points.
With the win, the Cyclones (20-5, 10-4 Big 12) snapped a three-game road losing streak. It also gave them their first 20-win season since 2001-02.
Katie Robinette and Lyndsey Medders each added 13 points for the Cyclones, who had lost three of four. Mary Fox had 12 points.
Tiffany Brooks scored 19 points to lead the Tigers (9-16, 3-11). Missouri has lost 14 straight games against ranked opponents and fell to 0-11 against Iowa State when the Cyclones are ranked. LaToya Bond scored 15 points, Christelle N’Garsanet had 14 and Carlynn Savant added 14.
After being down 56-46, Missouri used a 17-4 run to take the lead midway through the second half. Bond’s 3-pointer gave the Tigers a 61-60 lead with 5:36 left. She also capped the run with two free throws for a 63-60 lead.
The Cyclones relied on their 3-point shooting to build a 12-2 lead early. They did not attempt at 2-pointer field goal until 15:04 remained in the half.
Iowa State connected on seven of 17 from long range, with Fox hitting 3-of-5.
ISU coach Bill Fennelly reached the 20-win mark for the 12th time in his career.
- Anne O’Neil scored 20 points to lead Iowa State, the first time she has led the team in scoring since Feb. 8 at Texas Tech, where she logged 23 points.
- Lyndsey Medders dished out five assists, raising her season total to 154. She averages 6.16 assists per game and sits in second place in the Big 12.
- The Cyclones put up 76 points, keeping them in first place in the Big 12 in scoring offense at 78.4 points per game, ahead of Baylor by 3.8 points. Iowa State is also in first place in field goal percentage at .463.
- Medders collected a steal with only 18 seconds left in the game to seal the victory. Iowa State had eight steals against Missouri, but is last in the Big 12 with 6.75 steals per game.
— Nathan Wilcke