The Cyclones found their 3-point shot early, hitting 8 of 16 in the first half en route to an 89-48 victory over Northwest Missouri State at Hilton Coliseum on Sunday.

Head coach Bill Fennelly said he was happy with the offensive output and attributed the change from last year to having more options.

“I think Mary Fox adds an option. We’re just so much better at every spot, and we can spread the floor better,” Fennelly said. “Obviously Katie [Robinette] being here full-time dramatically impacts our team.”

Fox led Iowa State in scoring with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting. She went 4 of 7 from the 3-point line, including a three six seconds into the game.

“We run a jump ball play and it actually worked twice,” Fennelly said.

“It really is one of those weird — it’s like Todd Blythe catching a 40-yard pass against Nebraska the first play of the game — it gets the crowd into the game.”

Anne O’Neil, Ronhovde and Robinette also hit double figures in points for Iowa State in its last tune-up before the regular season begins. O’Neil came away with nine assists and only two turnovers in 24 minutes.

The Bearcats came out of the gate strong and took an early 7-6 lead. They stayed close until the 14-minute mark, when the Cyclones started a 14-0 run. Ronhovde and Fox each drained threes, O’Neil hit two, and Lisa Kriener made a lay-up to make the score 34-16.

Northwest Missouri State never got closer than 16 points.

“I think that every game is going to be a balance; we have great players all around on the perimeter, and inside they can bang down. That’s going to be our key — getting the ball inside and getting it started,” O’Neil said.

The Bearcats started to cover the outside shooters, and the Cyclones took full advantage, pounding the ball inside and finishing the game with a 40-12 advantage in points in the paint.

“We’ve got kids who can make 3-point shots, and our post game is so much better, it’s allowed some of those kids to get open looks,” Fennelly said.

Every player for Iowa State got in the game as Fennelly tinkered with his lineup again. The Cyclones had 11 players log 11 or more minutes, and only five were in the game for more than 20.

“The thing that I’m probably the most pleased is that, if you look at the stats, not one kid took more than eight shots,” Fennelly said.

“Those are the old teams that Iowa State had when they were kicking Oklahoma State’s butts by sharing the ball.”

Fennelly said he thinks his starting lineup is firm and plans to use the same five next week.

Fennelly said he also was happy the perimeter shooting was better than the first game. The Cyclones went 11 for 30 from behind the arc and 8 for 16 in the first half, compared with an 8-for-28 showing against William Penn. Fox was a big part of that improvement.

“I think Mary Fox could be a really exceptional shooter,” Fennelly said.

“Megan is streaky, Anne O’Neil is streaky, we don’t have any one damn-good every-time Jake Sullivan-type of shooter.”

Iowa State will open the regular season against Cleveland State at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Hilton Coliseum.