The Cyclones’ recent string of come-from-behind, last-second

nail-biter wins finally caught up with them.

After pulling out overtime victories over then No. 20 Auburn and

San

Diego,

the ISU women’s basketball team finally ran out of gas. The result

was

a

69-63 upset victory by Kansas State in Hilton Coliseum, snapping

No. 5

Iowa

State’s 26-game home unbeaten streak.

“I feel like we’ve been trying to hold on for so long,” ISU center

Angie

Welle said. “Every time we win `Whew, that was a close one.’ Well

now

we’re

on the other end and it caught up with us.”

The Wildcats used the Cyclones’ own tricks against them, playing

a

zone

defense that shut down Welle, a preseason All-American, and

draining

nine

three-pointers. Kansas State launched a Cyclone-esque 24

treys.

The KSU players were in such a zone Wildcat head coach Deb

Patterson

played

all of them but one the full 40 minutes. Kendra Wecker was the

only KSU

starter to sit out – a whole 17 seconds at the end of the first half.<</p>

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“This group seemed to have a good rhythm,” Patterson said. “It

was

just

such a tenuous game . I just didn’t want to mess with the

rhythm.”

Wecker, a freshman playing in her first Big 12 Conference game,

led

the

Wildcats with 19 points and hit big shot after big shot to kill

Cyclone

runs. She also tied teammate Nicole Ohlde for the team lead with

11

rebounds.

“We’d been playing good basketball coming in,” Wecker said. “We

just

came

in fired up and ready to go. We just executed our offense and team

defense

we played just really got us going.”

The Wildcat defense limited Welle’s touches and forced the

Cyclones to

attempt more three-point shots than two point field goals.

“I think we were settling for threes a little too much,” Wilson said.

Iowa State finished 11-of-36 (30 percent) from behind the arc, well

below

its 39 percent season average.

” Basketball is called that for a reason,” ISU head coach Bill

Fennelly

said. “If the ball doesn’t go in the basket, you’re gonna get beat.”

Welle managed a double-double, despite the suffocating Wildcat

defense. She

had 15 points and a team-high 11 boards.

“We crowed the lane, crowded the ball,” Ohlde said of the

Wildcats’

defensive strategy to stop Welle. “Wherever the ball was we were

showing

ourselves.”

Wilson led Iowa State with 21 points followed by Tracy Gahan with

16.

But

each struggled from the field.

“We had good looks,” Gahan said. “I know personally I couldn’t

make a

basket.”

Wilson finished 8-of-18 and Gahan 4-of-16. Things were even

worse from

behind the free throw line as Gahan missed eight of her 11

attempts and

Wilson was 5-for-12.

“We lost because we couldn’t make a shot,” Fennelly said. “I

thought

our

effort was good. Game plan wise I don’t think we would change a

whole

lot.

It’s a night where the ball wouldn’t go in the basket.”

Junior Melanie Bremer was the only Cyclone other than the `Big

Three’

of

Wilson, Welle and Gahan to score. Bremer knocked down 11

points and hit

several clutch baskets.

“The pressure that the `Big Three’ were under was really bad

because

we got

nothing out of anyone except for [Bremer],” Fennelly said.

Mary Cofield, Mary Fox and Tracy Paustian combined to play 52

minutes

and

were 0-for-13 from the floor. As a team Iowa State finished 21-of-

62

(33

percent) from the floor.

The Cyclones did have more rebounds than Kansas State,

winning that

battle

40-33. Iowa State also kept its turnovers down with only 13 in the

game.

“I think when you start missing shots it’s contagious,” Fennelly

said.

“If

you tell me that we’re gonna turn the ball over 13 times, we’re

gonna

out-rebound the other guy by seven and we’re gonna hold them to

69

points.

You tell me that every single game, I’ll take it right now. We’re not

gonna

shoot 33 percent every game.”

Despite its struggles, Iowa State still had a chance at the end of

the

game.

Trailing 57-43 with 9:16 left in the game, Iowa State mounted a

furious

comeback. Wilson hit a three-pointer and Gahan later followed

Wilson’s

shot

with a three of her own.

Iowa State got within five points but Laurie Koehn nailed three of

her

13

points and Wecker hit a jumper to give Kansas State a 62-52 lead.

Again the Cyclones powered back. Welle scored five points in a

row,

and

Bremer nailed a three from the top of the arc to bring the Wildcat

lead

to

two, 62-60 and send the 8,126 fans into a frenzy.

The Wildcats wouldn’t give Iowa State a chance to capitalize,

making

seven

free throws on eight attempts down the stretch, icing the victory

and

raising their record to 13-1 (1-0 in the Big 12).

With the loss the Cyclones drop to 12-1 (0-1 in the Big 12) and lost

on

their home court for the first time since losing to Kansas in the

1999-2000

season. The loss was only Fennelly’s ninth at Hilton since he took

the

ISU

job in 1995. Overall his record stands at 85-9 at home.

“We should feel more proven than we did a week ago,” Patterson

said.

“It’s

never a fluke when you beat a team like Iowa State.”

Despite being unranked, the win by Kansas State is no surprise

as the

Big

12 Conference is packed with power-house teams.

“I look at Iowa State as one of the premier programs in the

country,”

Patterson said. “Realistically in our league there’s anywhere from

three to

six teams that are some of the best in the country.”

Joining the Cyclones in the Associated Press Top 25 are last

year’s

conference champs Oklahoma at No. 3, Baylor at No. 7, Texas

Tech at No.

9,

Colorado at No. 16 and Texas at No. 21.

Kansas State will likely join that group when the next poll comes

out.

“I think [that] says what everybody knows – we have the best

league in

the

country. It’s gonna be like that night in and night out,” Fennelly

said.

Iowa State will get a chance to start a new streak at home

Saturday

when

10-3 (0-1 in Big 12) Nebraska rolls into Hilton for a 1p.m. game.<</p>

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“The little bit of mystique or fear or whatever you want to call it is

probably not as bright as it was because teams know they can

come in

here

and win,” Fennelly said.