Maybe it was his nerves. Maybe it was his tenacity.

Whatever the case, after ISU head coach Bill Fennelly shook hands with Howard University’s head coach Cathy Parson, seconds before tip-off Friday night before their first round NCAA game, Fennelly turned toward his bench, shed his beige sports coat like it itched him and flung it from nearly half court towards his seat.

“I’m always antsy,” Fennelly said. “March is what I live for.”

No need for nerves or buzzer-to-buzzer intensity on this night. The Cyclones defeated the Lady Bison easily, 100-61.

“Right from the start we were very motivated to play,” Fennelly said. “We played with a great sense of urgency.”

Center Angie Welle scored 16 points in the first half. Four field goals came from her getting behind a lax Howard defense.

She finished with 23 points to lead all scorers while her 10 rebounds led her team.

“It’s difficult for any post to keep up with her,” point guard Lindsey Wilson said of Welle and her sprinter’s mentality.

Wilson finished with 13 points and three assists.

Guard Erica Haugen ended as the game leader in assists with 11. She also had the game high in steals with five.

The Cyclones finished with 27 assists. “We were very unselfish,” Fennelly said.

Indeed.

With the score 29-15 and a little over seven minutes remaining in the first half, forward Tracy Gahan had the ball on the left wing in transition.

She drove to the elbow of the free-throw line while Welle was underneath the hoop. The Lady Bison scrambled to cover her. Gahan noticed Taylor alone on the left wing with her feet set behind the arc. She kicked it out and Taylor drained the three.

It was one of Gahan’s three assists to go along with her 12 points. Taylor, who added a three later, ended with 12 points.

“We dribbled the ball a lot less. We moved the ball around the floor,” Fennelly said.

Counter the ball movement and subsequent assists against the Cyclones 14 turnovers, and Fennelly is content.

“That’s our goal every game. To keep [the turnovers] at 14” Fennelly said.

Iowa State disrupted Howard’s goals.

Center Andrea Gardner was Iowa State’s concern in the post.

She finished with 19 points and played 37 minutes. Welle, her counterpart, played only 20.

During the first half, Gardner grew impatient against the Cyclones starting defense.

“They kind of bothered me,” she said. “I wasn’t getting the ball. And when I’d get the ball, they’d double down on me.”

When a double-team enclosed her, Gardner fired passes to the perimeter.

Sometimes guard Chanell Washington received the pass. She finished with a team high 20 points.

Other times Asia Petty would get it. Petty was the third and final Lady Bison in double figures, ending with 12 points.

But overall, Howard shot poorly.

They were 33.8 percent from the field and 21.1 percent from the three-point line.

The Cyclones shot 57.1 and 31.6, respectively.

“They just had their way, the way they’d wanted to,” Parson said. “And the home crowd helped a great deal.”

Of the 11,462 seated in Hilton Coliseum, only a few of the padded seats with metallic black backs were not stained with cardinal and gold by the end of the night.

The noise was deafening at the half. The fans saluted the 17-0 run their team had mustered to extend the lead to 30, 51-21.

The crowd was large and raucous yesterday against Florida State.

Fennelly said he thought he would need that support after the game Friday.

“The Seminoles are very talented,” he said. “They’re the best team to come to Hilton Coliseum this year. Period.”