The Iowa State women’s basketball team dropped its second straight game in a week, with its weekend loss to No. 14 Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. The Lady Raiders claimed the six-point victory, 64-58, Saturday afternoon.

The Cyclones, now 9-7, 2-4 in the Big 12, also lost on the road Wednesday to Kansas State 62-54.

Despite the loss, Head Coach Bill Fennelly was proud of the effort put forth by the team. “I am very encouraged that we were able to take the No. 14 team in the country down to the wire in front of 8,000 fans on the road,” he said.

Iowa State saw four players score in double figures as junior forward Janel Grimm paced the Cyclones with 19 points and nine rebounds.

“Janel played probably her best game of the season,” Fennelly said.

Freshman guard Amanda Bartz, playing in her second regular season game of her career, added 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. All 12 of her points came from behind the three-point arc.

“The biggest thing [we need from her] is scoring. We have been having a lot of problems with scoring from the off guard and small forward spots,” Fennelly said. “Amanda is a true freshman who hasn’t practiced for two months. She needs to improve defensively.”

Iowa State made 10-of-30 from behind the three-point line, paced by Bartz with four of nine attempts from the floor.

“Tech plays all zone,” Fennelly said. “We knew we had to hit a lot of three’s and we had some good looks.” Others scoring in double figures for the Cyclones include senior guard Tara Gunderson and junior forward Jayme Olson. Both players added 11 points for ISU.

Besides her scoring, Gunderson grabbed a pair of rebounds, while adding three assists for the Cyclones, despite turning the ball over eight times.

Olson added eight rebounds and dished a team-high five assists.

Gunderson and Olson each hit three perimeter shots for the Cyclones.

Freshman forward Monica Huelman grabbed five rebounds for the Cyclones while adding three points and three assists.

“Janel and Monica each did a good job in the middle,” Fennelly said.

The Cyclones managed to win the battle of the boards over the Lady Raiders with a 13-rebound (37-24) margin. The Cyclones also had an assist advantage by one (17-16).

“We have made a conscious effort to get to the backboards,” Fennelly said.

“We need to get second and third opportunities and Janel did a great job on the offensive boards.”

However, two factors really hurt ISU in the contest, 20 turnovers and two-of-seven from the free- throw line.

“We have to rebound to make up for our ball-handling deficiencies,” Fennelly said. “However we need to get to the line more.”

The Lady Raiders hit 12-of-24 from the free-throw line, with Rene Hanebutt and Alicia Thompson each making five free throws apiece and Texas Tech committed just 12 turnovers in the ballgame.

Julie Lake paced the Lady Raiders with 22 points, including four three-point baskets.

Hanebutt added 16 while grabbing three rebounds. Thompson also added 15 points while grabbing a team-high five rebounds.

The Cyclones will return home for a pair of games this week beginning with Thursday night’s contest against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at 7 p.m., followed by a Saturday afternoon game against the Texas A&M Aggies, beginning at 2 p.m.