Cyclones looking to extend win streak to three

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Iowa State redshirt freshman Morgan Kane and junior Madison Wise celebrate after defeating No. 2 Baylor 57-56 on March 8. Iowa State snapped Baylor’s 58 Big 12 game-winning streak. 

Nick Flores

The Iowa State Cyclones are looking to extend their current win streak to three games when they face-off against No.6 Baylor on Saturday evening. 

The Cyclones are coming off of a big win against Big 12 leaders Oklahoma State in which they had yet another balanced team performance to lead them to victory. Iowa State won the game 90-80 behind Ashley Joens’ 30 points and 15 rebounds and another 3-point barrage scoring 16 three pointers on nearly 50 percent shooting.

Coming up against a Baylor team who shoots the ball well averaging 30 percent from three and 50 percent from the floor, Ashley Joens believes the team needs to keep shooting the ball as the Cyclones have been scoring very efficiently recently. 

“We’ve shot the ball really great in our last two games,” Joens said. “We just have to keep that confidence and keep on shooting the ball like we know it’s going to go in.” 

While the Cyclones have been shooting the ball well over the last two games, they still may be without center Kristin Scott. It is likely that the senior center will play against Baylor but, if she is unavailable or can only play limited minutes head coach Bill Fennelly has a game-plan.

“We have basically two paths we will take, one with her and one without her,” Fennelly said. “Obviously probably limited time if she can go so, like I said, we knew on Monday that the chances of her playing Wednesday were pretty slim so we went forward with that and I thought Madison Wise did an amazing job stepping into that role.”

Madison Wise filled in for the injured Scott and she made an instant impact against Oklahoma State having scored a quick five points in the opening minutes of the game. She finished with 12 points and was crucial in helping defend against the Cowgirls star Natasha Mack. 

Wise alongside Morgan Kane were tasked with guarding Mack and while Mack did finish with 34 points, they did very well to not allow her to get to the free throw line for any extra points. 

The pair combined for 17 points and eight rebounds and if Kristin Scott is unavailable for Baylor, they will surely step up for the Cyclones.

The Cyclones will face the Baylor Lady Bears on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPNU.