The Iowa State women kept on rolling with a 77-60 win over the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum.

The Cyclones were led by the dynamic duo of Megan Taylor and Stacy Frese, who combined for 43 points.

The first half of the game was marked by poor offensive play from both squads, as the Cyclones had a 25-21 advantage at the break.

“I had a lot of open looks, but I just couldn’t knock any down. We played really horrible, but we settled down and hit some shots in the second half,” Frese said.

It was in the second half when the Iowa State team that had plowed through the season so far with a record of 12-1 showed up and conquered the Aggies, who entered the game with a mark of 6-8.

Taylor, who had struggled in the team’s last game against Colorado, came out after scoring seven points in the first half ready to lead the ‘Clones to a win.

Taylor scored six points in the first 3:20 of the second half en route to a game-high 22 for the game. She also added 10 rebounds.

“In the second half, Megan came out with a lot of energy. For a game and a half, she just didn’t play like Megan Taylor, and getting her back helped a lot,” coach Bill Fennelly said.

The Aggies were able to stay in the game at several points in which it seemed the heavily favored Cyclones would run away with the contest.

When Megan Taylor put in a finger-roll, the ISU advantage was 16 with 12:13 left in the contest.

The crowd of 6,081 (7th best all-time) was erupting, and the Aggies had every reason to fold.

However, they quickly put together an 8-0 run that left the game in peril with 11:02 left.

ISU got things back in order behind Taylor, Frese and excellent shooting at the free throw line.

In all, Iowa State was 27-31 at the foul line, highlighted by performances of 12-14 from Frese and 5-5 from Taylor.

Texas A&M Coach Peggie Gillom, who is in her first year at the helm, felt that the officiating was influenced by the partisan crowd.

“I’m going to say it straight, we got ‘homered’. I’m not one to usually complain, but that was ridiculous. That was the game right there, they outscored us by 17 at the line, and they won by 17,” Gillom said.

The Aggies were led by Prissy Sharpe, who scored 16 of her 21 points in the second half, including seven points in a minute and a half.

Also having solid days for the Cyclones were Angie Welle, who finished with 11 points and Tracy Gahan, who ended with 11 in her most extensive playing time since she injured her hand late-December.

Monica Huelman aided the ISU cause by grabbing a season-high 11 rebounds, and overall the Cyclones outrebounded the Aggies by 13 at 39-26.

“Mo played the best game she’s played since she’s been here,” Fennelly said.

An interesting sidenote was the lack of contribution by Desiree Francis, who entered the contest averaging 17.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

She only played nine minutes, and did not score for the first time all season.

“Des was not ready to play for whatever reason. Plus, Mo and Angie were playing so well. It just wasn’t her day,” Fennelly said.

The Cyclones will now head to Texas Tech on Wednesday to play the biggest regular-season game they will play this year.

“I think Iowa State is the best team in the conference. I don’t want to take anything away from Tech, but they have so many weapons. They are a great team,” Gillom said.

“That’s going to be a crazy atmosphere. They’re going to have a full house, and we’re going to have to pay great to win,” Frese said.

The game will tip off at 7 p.m., and will most likely decide the conference championship.