Cyclone women blow away Huskers, 92-70

Jeremy Gustafson

LINCOLN, Neb. – It was a tale of two halves for Iowa State Sunday. Fortunately for ISU head coach Bill Fennelly and his No. 7 Cyclones, both halves had happy endings.The Cyclones used a barrage of three-pointers in the first half to establish a lead and put the Nebraska Cornhuskers away with inside domination in the second half for a 92-70 Iowa State victory.ISU center Angie Welle enjoyed great passing from the Cyclone guards as she scored 23 points on 7-9 shooting. Welle added nine boards. ISU sophomore Lindsey Wilson, sporting a bruise under her right eye from her last game against Missouri, finished with 17 points and seven assists.Wilson set the tone early in the first half, hitting 4-of-9 from behind the arc as Iowa State battled a rowdy crowd and a determined Husker team. Her nine trey attempts was similar to the way the Cyclone team played. In the half, Iowa State attempted 22 threes, making 10. They attempted only eight two-point field goals.”If they have that open of a look at the three,” Fennelly said, “that is a good shot for us.”But Iowa State did not run away with this game, like they did during a 89-46 victory over Nebraska on Jan. 13. Iowa State was unable to find Welle down low due to a zone defense applied by the Huskers, but the Cyclones found a friend in the shape of the three. Iowa State was able to weather runs by Nebraska that saw Iowa State down by as many as seven.”You gotta take the other person’s big hit early,” Fennelly said.The Cyclones did just that as the Huskers traded blow-for-blow with Iowa State until 5:14 left in the first half when Wilson hit a three to give Iowa State its first lead, 32-29. It was a lead the Cyclones would not lose.Following Wilson’s bucket, the Cyclones were in the midst of a 12-0 run. The Huskers battled back to within seven, but with time winding down in the half, ISU senior Megan Taylor dropped a trifecta from the corner to give Iowa State a 45-35 halftime lead.”I still think the story of that team is Megan Taylor,” Husker coach Paul Sanderford said.Taylor scored 19 points and grabbed nine boards.Sanderford said he would be glad to see Taylor gone as an opponent of Nebraska. “I’ve seen enough of her,” he said.In the second half, Iowa State dominated the paint as Welle scored 19. Nebraska switched from a zone defense they had played to a man-to-man, and Welle responded.”Regardless of what kind of defense they play,” Wilson said, “We were ready.”Nebraska sophomore Paige Sutton said that you have to choose how you want the Cyclones to beat you. “They have a lot of weapons,” Sutton said. “It’s like choosing your poison.”Sutton finished with a career high 15 points, all from behind the arc. Casey Leonhardt and Amanda Went contributed 14 and 13 respectively for Nebraska.Welle used her speed to beat the Huskers back in transition and was able to score some easy lay-ups and close the door on any Nebraska rally.”With the momentum picked up,” Wilson said, “we were able to do better.”Senior guard Erica Haugen led the team with eight assists as the Cyclones moved their Big 12 Conference record to 8-1 (18-2 overall). The Huskers fell to 10-12 overall (2-7 conference).Iowa State will get a chance to extend their winning streak to four games Wednesday night against Oklahoma State in Hilton Coliseum, ending a stretch of four out of five games on the road. The Cyclones were 4-1 during that period, losing only to Baylor.