The Cyclones gave their loyal fans just what they were looking for Saturday afternoon: a good game and a Cyclone win over the Iowa Hawkeyes.

With a record-breaking 5,844 supporters in the stands, the enthusiastic crowd cheered the Cyclones to a 74-59 victory over the Hawks. The Hawks had a 10-game winning streak going until the Cyclones dished them the weekend defeat.

Coach Bill Fennelly said, “It’s gotta be one of the best wins. No doubt about it. Simply because of everything.”

Iowa State started off slowly as Iowa won the tip-off and sank the first two baskets of the game.

Freshman Erica Haugen, in her first collegiate start, got the Cyclones on the board with a lay-up.

Others who joined Haugen in the starting line-up included freshman Megan Taylor, sophomore Stacy Frese and seniors Janel Grimm and Jayme Olson.

The women went up against the experienced starting Hawkeye line-up which included seniors Shannon Perry, Nadine Domond, Tangela Smith and Malikah Willis, and junior Amy Herrig.

The Cyclones had a rough time getting into the game, and it showed in their first-half shooting percentage. They shot only a .367 from the floor. The Hawkeyes, however, posted an even lower percentage of .333.

A Frese lay-in gave the Cyclones their first lead with about seven minutes left in the half.

At that point, the ISU’s spirit began to soar, and the women secured their position by ending the half with a six-point lead.

Coming out of the intermission cold, the Cyclones won control of the ball but couldn’t put it through the net.

Fennelly said in the second half, his team came out flat and struggled to build momentum from the sluggish start.

At the midpoint of the second half, the Cyclones got the ball rolling, and the ISU lead steadily increased as the clocked ticked. Fennelly’s crew never gave Iowa the chance to catch up, and ISU wrapped up the game with a 74-57 win.

Fennelly, Olson, Grimm and Frese all agreed that the crowd was incredible.

Grimm said the crowd, which broke the attendance record by more than 1,000 people, was like having a sixth man on the floor.

Olson said for her and Grimm, it was “a pride factor beating Iowa.” Olson said when she and her teammate came to ISU four years ago, the state only recognized Iowa’s women’s basketball program. Now the Cyclones have proven themselves, and people need to stand up and listen, she said.

Fennelly started his postgame comments with a big “thank-you to fans and the media.”

He said he was very proud of the team’s accomplishment and that it was a very emotional win.

Fennelly added that was a lot of pregame talk about Frese playing against her old Iowa teammates. Despite all of the hoopla, it didn’t make a difference in Frese’s play, he said.

And it didn’t. Offensively, Frese led the team with 22 points.

Frese said she was “happy it’s over” and is ready to move on.

Commenting on the whole game, Olson said that “we didn’t fold or let ourselves get caught up in their game.”

Despite poor shooting percentages in both halves, the Cyclones were a force on the rebounding end. As a team, ISU totaled 11 offensive rebounds and 28 on the defensive end. Taylor led the way, snagging 13; Olson collected 10.

In the net, Taylor and Olson doubled with 11 and 20 points, respectively. Grimm also greatly contributed to the Cyclone score with 18 points.

Grimm said the team has set goals higher than beating Iowa, but that this victory is one big step toward the final goal.