Cyclones blow past Wildcats thanks to solid defense

Iowa+State+Senior%C2%A0In%C3%A8s+Nezerwa+puts+up+a+shot+against+Iowas+Monika+Czinano+in+a%C2%A0game+on+Dec.+11th
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Iowa State Senior Inès Nezerwa puts up a shot against Iowa’s Monika Czinano in a game on Dec. 11th

John Miller
January 22, 2020

The Iowa State Cyclones (11-6, 3-3 Big 12) defeated the Kansas State Wildcats (7-9, 1-4 Big 12) by a score of 73 to 59 on Wednesday night in Hilton Coliseum.

Iowa State struggled shooting from the outside as they went 9 for 33 from beyond the arc.

But the Cyclones were able to get some easy baskets off the 16 Kansas State turnovers.

In a new move, the Cyclones started Ines Nezerwa over Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw in an attempt to give them a better chance against Kansas State’s size. 

Nezerwa got off to a hot start as she scored six points of the Cyclones in the first quarter. That hot start was a bit surprising consider her average of 8.4 points per game on the season. Nezerwa’s five rebounds also helped give the Cyclones a 40 to 30 rebounding advantage.

Thanks to a ten to two run, the Cyclones took a 17 to 10 lead into the end of the first quarter.

Kansas State’s turnovers were a problem early, as they committed 11 in the first half. The Wildcats turnover margin ranked at 7th in the Big 12 coming into the game at -1.75.

Rae Johnson was a bright spot for the Cyclone offense as she went on to finish with 19 points and eight assists.

Her output was helped thanks to a three for seven performance from three in the first half. Johnson came into the game with an average of 7.8 points per game and 4.6 assists.

The Wildcats were able to shrink the lead to four by the end of the third quarter thanks to five key points from leading scorer Peyton Williams.

But after an Ashley Joens three-pointer brought the Cyclones lead to seven with 3:29 remaining, the team used that momentum to run away from the Wildcats.

Joens scored 21 points for the Cyclones on the night, which is right around her average of 23 points per game. 

Iowa State only managed to get to the free throw line ten times, which was much lower than their season average of sixteen.

Yet, the Cyclones made all ten of those chances.

Overall, the performance helps the Cyclones’ Big 12 status as they look to earn another NCAA Tournament berth this year.

Iowa State will be back in action at home on Saturday as they face the Kansas Jayhawks.