Iowa State looked like the Cyclones of old.

At least they did in the second half of a 87-61 rout of Missouri in Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday night.

The win was the second Big 12 Conference victory in a row for the ISU women’s basketball team, which improved to 4-5 in the conference and 16-5 overall.

“I think in years past we wouldn’t think anything of winning two games in a row,” ISU center Angie Welle said. “We’re taking a mini-season right now and we’re 2-0.”

Welle and forward Tracy Gahan led Iowa State with 23 points. The other leg of the `Big Three,’ Lindsey Wilson, tallied 19 points and collected six steals.

But it didn’t start out pretty for the Cyclones. Missouri jumped out to an 28-20 lead due to a lackadaisical Cyclone defense.

“I think we came out really flat in the first half,” Gahan said. “Nobody was really penetrating. The shots that we were taking were at the buzzer. It seemed like we were just having to force it up there, and we weren’t getting very good looks.”

ISU head coach Bill Fennelly echoed Gahan’s statement.

“We were doing a lot of standing around,” he said.

That all changed as the half came to a close.

Gahan knocked down a three-pointer, Wilson followed with a hoop and foul and Welle sank an easy two to pull Iowa State to within three, 31-28.

“I think we just all kind of realized that we needed to step it up,” ISU forward Mary Cofield said. “You hit a shot and then you just run.”

Iowa State closed the half with a three by Cofield, another by Wilson and a two by Welle for a 16-5 run and a 36-33 halftime lead.

Natalie Bright, a West Des Moines native, led Missouri into the half, making both of her three-point attempts and scoring 13 points.

Iowa State clamped down in the second half, holding Bright to two points, 15 for the game.

“We let her get a couple good looks in the first half,” Gahan said.

“We had to get that prevented in the second half.”

Bright said the defensive pressure effected the Tigers’ game plan.

“It made us go run around with our heads cut off,” she said of the Cyclones’ defensive pressure. “It was downhill from there.”

No. 16 Iowa State used a near flawless second half to pound Missouri into submission. At one point, the Cyclones drained 17 straight free throws to increase the lead to 68-49.

Iowa State hit 54.2 percent (13-24) of its shots in the second half and was 22 of 27 from the line.

For the game Iowa State shot 50 percent (27 of 54) and was nine of 16 from beyond the arc and 24 of 31 from the charity stripe.

Missouri made 23 of 64 shots (35.9 percent.)

Fennelly was very pleased with his team’s effort from the foul line.

“That’s a good sign,” he said while knocking on a wooden table. “It’s nice to see Lindsey, Tracy and Angie step up there. They are all gonna get fouled a lot – they’re so aggressive going to the basket.”

Iowa State pummeled the Tigers in the second half, outscoring them 51-28 on their way to climbing up the Big 12 ladder.

They get a chance to climb some more and avenge a 69-63 loss earlier in the year to Kansas State when they travel to Manhattan for a 7 p.m. game Saturday.

boxscores

MISSOURI (12-7)

Unrau 5-10 2-3 13, Fisher 3-10 1-2 7, Lozier 3-11 0-0 9, Barr 2-13 3-3 7, Bright 6-11 1-2 15, Podratz 0-1 0-0 0, Carter 1-2 0-1 3, Smith 1-1 0-0 2, Roney 0-0 0-0 0, Wolford 0-1 0-0 0, Loftus 2-4 1-3 5. Totals 23-64 8-14 61.

IOWA STATE (16-5)

Gahan 7-13 6-6 23, Cizek 0-0 0-0 0, Welle 8-13 7-9 23, Wilson 5-14 6-6 19, Paustian 1-3 0-2 2, Fox 1-1 0-0 2, Bordewyk 0-1 0-0 0, Homeyer 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Cofield 2-3 1-2 7, Kriener 0-0 1-2 1, Bremer 3-6 3-4 10. Totals 27-54 24-31 87.

Halftime-Iowa State 36, Missouri 33. 3-Point goals-Missouri 7-18 (Lozier 3-8, Bright 2-3, Unrau 1-2, Carter 1-2, Barr 0-3), Iowa State 9-16 (Gahan 3-4, Wilson 3-5, Cofield 2-3, Bremer 1-2, Paustian 0-2). Fouled out-Fisher. Rebounds-Missouri 37 (Unrau 9), Iowa State 36 (Gahan, Welle 6). Assists-Missouri 15 (Lozier, Bright 4). Iowa State 22 (Paustian 6). Total fouls-Missouri 24, Iowa State 15. A-10,416.