It was only an exhibition game, but don’t tell that to the Iowa State women’s basketball players after their 102-98 fall to Athletes in Action in a double overtime heartbreaker.

Jayme Olson led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds, pacing six Cyclones in double figures.

“This feels the same as any loss,” Olson said. “To us it counts just as much as the game going to the NCAA tournament, and we need to re-evaluate.”

The Cyclones trailed by as many as 10 in the first half before crawling back to within three at halftime. AIA, composed of former top collegiate players and a handful of professionals, had a combination of size, speed and shooting ability.

ISU’s interior defenders did a good job of blocking out and preventing AIA from getting any offensive rebounds during the first half.

ISU came out firing in the second half, popping off an 18-1 run to lead by 14 with 16 minutes to go.

Senior Janel Grimm, who finished with 15 points and 11 boards, and freshman Megan Taylor, with 16 points and 12 caroms, each had two baskets during this stretch.

However, AIA battled back over the next 14 minutes to tie the score.

With under two minutes left in regulation and the game knotted, Grimm drilled a three-pointer. Then, after an AIA basket, Olson was hacked and went to the line, where she drilled both attempts.

But with 26 seconds left, AIA’s Jennifer Howard sank a three-pointer to send the game into the first overtime.

“We knew we could learn a lot in this game,” Coach Bill Fennelly said. “This was a great teaching tool. Putting our girls in these kinds of situations is great. That is what these exhibition games are for.”

In the first overtime, after Grimm fouled out, Fennelly had two freshmen and two sophomores on the floor with Olson.

The youngsters did a good job, taking a five-point lead with 20 seconds to go, before an AIA three-pointer made it a two-point game.

Stacy Frese, who ended with 16 points, nailed a free throw to keep the Cyclones up by three.

After an AIA miss and an offensive rebound, AIA’s Nicole Levesque drilled a three with just one second to go to send the game into the second overtime.

“We did a lot of things to give the game away,” Olson said. “The team expected me to get things done, especially when we lost Janel. The freshmen were looking to me to calm things down and I didn’t do that.”

In the final extra frame, the young Cyclones finally wilted under the pressure. They once again left Howard open for a three, and AIA was able to make some clutch free throws to ice the game.

“We just didn’t do a good job of guarding [Howard],” Fennelly said. “It just seemed as though we were one pass behind and we didn’t rotate well.”

“This was a great comparison to the girls that we will play in the Big 12,” Grimm said.

Monica Huelman ended the match with 14 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Erica Haugen finished with 13 points, while Amanda Bartz came off the bench to add five.

The Cyclone women hit the Hilton hardwood again Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. They are set to play the University of Missouri-Kansas City in their season opener.