In a game pitting the two highest scoring teams in the Big 12, the game was ultimately won with a strong defensive effort.

Iowa State defeated Oklahoma 71-56 to gain a tie for the lead in the Big 12 with a mark of 9-1.

Oklahoma, whose previous low in conference was 76 points, shot only 31 percent in picking up their first loss of the season in conference play.

“I thought our defense was really, really good the entire game. The whole week we stressed making them take tough shots and not letting them get to the basket, and the players did a great job of doing that,” Fennelly said.

The Cyclones were led by sophomore forward Megan Taylor, who made 6-10 shots from behind the arc en route to a season-high 25 points.

The most important sequence of the game occurred just after Oklahoma had gone on a 15-3 run that turned a potential blowout into a tight contest.

With the score 47-41 and 11:14 left in the game, Taylor nailed a three-pointer from the wing on an assist from Lindsey Wilson.

After a defensive stop, Taylor reloaded without hesitation on another pass from Wilson, and swished a three from virtually the same spot.

Another defensive stop gave way to another Taylor three, this one on a pass from forward Desir‚e Francis. Suddenly, in just over two minutes, the Cyclone lead grew from 6 to 15.

“We fought so hard to cut that lead back to six, and then Megan Taylor goes out and hits three three-pointers in a row, and it kind of took the wind out of our sails,” Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said.

Taylor’s hot streak did not go unnoticed by her teammates.

“When she hit that first one, I made up my mind that if I had the ball, I was going to pass it to her because she was on fire. I thought it was neat that I got her the ball,” Francis said.

The Cyclones had a solid first half, and went into intermission up 41-25 on the strength of a 12-4 run the last 4:55 of the half.

Iowa State was led by Tracy Gahan, who had 11 points in the first half, including making all three of her three-pointers.

“Tracy was shooting, and everybody was like ‘yeah’. That was nine big points in a short amount of time. It’s nice that she decided to shoot it tonight,” Fennelly said.

After a solid run to open the half that extended the Iowa State lead to 18, Oklahoma showed the grit and toughness that allowed them to win their first nine games in conference.

Combining tough defense with an insatiable appetite for rebounds, the Sooners fought their way back with a 7-0 run that made it a six point game.

“I thought we just played harder during that run. We didn’t really do anything different, we just did it harder,” Coale said.

For the game, Oklahoma out-rebounded Iowa State 44-37, including 19 offensive rebounds.

“They rebound like Megan. All of them,” Frese said.

Fennelly, for one, is a believer that the Sooners are for real.

“That’s the best team that we have played all year. They are going to be around for a long, long time,” Fennelly said.

The Cyclones were helped by 10,999 very loud fans, something that clearly rattled the Sooners at times.

“Our fans, as always, did a great job. I think that every game they play, our crowd gives us a huge advantage,” Fennelly said.

The Cyclones now will head to Kansas State for a matinee game on Sunday, and Iowa State knows they can’t afford a letdown.

“We just have to keep playing. Missouri beat Texas Tech tonight,” Fennelly said. “And we know that anything can happen if we don’t come ready to play.”