The Iowa State women bounced back from their first conference loss last weekend with a 64-46 victory over Kansas State. In the process, the Cyclones set season highs by attempting 31 three-pointers and hauling down 47 rebounds.

Stacy Frese and Jayme Olson once again led the way. Frese had 14 points, 11 assists and four steals, with only three turnovers. Olson had team-highs with 18 points and 12 rebounds. It was her eighth double-double of the season.

In the first half, the 24th-ranked Cyclones came out and played sluggishly, committing 11 turnovers.

“I was very upset with them at halftime,” Coach Bill Fennelly said. “When we would concentrate and move the ball around, we played pretty well. But when we relaxed, we would start throwing [the ball] 10 feet above people’s heads into the crowd, or else it would get picked off. At times our offense was their best offense.”

With 14:24 to go in the first half and ISU trailing 11-4, after a 7-0 Wildcat run, the Cyclones put together a run of their own.

Coming out of a television timeout, Frese stepped up her defensive intensity with three straight steals leading to a 14-11 Cyclone lead. ISU didn’t trail the remainder of the game.

“I tried to pick it up defensively,” Frese said. “Things were not going well offensively and we had to do something to turn it around.”

Megan Taylor, Janel Grimm and Amanda Bartz all had solid games under the boards. Taylor had 15 points and nine boards, with Grimm ending with 10 points and seven rebounds. Bartz also had seven caroms.

“Rebounding was the big factor,” Taylor said. “They had a hundred offensive rebounds to go along with a hundred defensive rebounds in the conference, so we needed to keep them off the offensive boards. Coach said they didn’t rebound especially well defensively, which would give us an opportunity to crash our offensive glass.”

ISU out-rebounded the Wildcats 24-8 in the first half, including eight on the offensive end. Still, the Cyclones led only 30-22.

“They were very physical and we needed to move the ball around,” Olson said. “We have to get used to that, because it’s just going to get worse as we get closer to the tournament.”

In the second half, ISU began to take better care of the ball and continued to knock down their perimeter shots. The Cyclones led by as many as 25 points before Fennelly began emptying the bench. Eleven different Cyclones saw playing time.

“I’m fairly pleased with game in the big picture,” Fennelly said. “We absolutely had to win this game. It was at home against a middle-of-the-pack team. We know what lies ahead in February, and this was big.”

The Cyclones are now 17-3, 6-1 in the conference. They are in first place in the Big 12 Northern Division, with a two-game lead in the loss column during league play. This is the third consecutive year ISU has reached the 17-win plateau.

“We’re ecstatic about getting 17 wins this early,” Fennelly said. “We’ve had a very hard schedule, and we’re very proud.”