AMES — Iowa State took on its in-state rival Wednesday night, as they hosted Northern Iowa at Hilton Coliseum.
The Cyclones took down UNI by a score of 87-70, in which Iowa State finished off its non-conference schedule on a good note where six players reached double-figures once again.
Joens leads Cyclones’ bench to promising performance
While the starting lineup ended up finishing the game on a stronger note than they started the game, the bench for Iowa State is what helped take down UNI.
Thirty-nine of the 87 points came off the bench for the Cyclones, in which three of the four players that came off the bench reached double-figures in points. The leader of that group of three was guard Kelsey Joens who finished the game with 16 points.
Those 16 points were shot on six-for-eight shooting from the field, three-for-four of which came from beyond the 3-point arc, as Joens had seemed to find her groove in Iowa State’s win Wednesday.
“It was just one of those nights and it was really fun to be out there playing and having fun,” Joens said.
The other two notable Cyclones that came off the bench and reached double-figures, were center Isnelle Natabou and guard Emily Ryan who both finished with 11 points.
McDermott’s career night not enough to push Panthers to win
While it may seem that Iowa State handled UNI easily, it was not without some resistance. The Panthers did not leave Hilton Coliseum Wednesday night without putting up a good fight against the Cyclones.
The one player that helped put the Panthers within reach of the Cyclones was guard Maya McDermott. McDermott reached a new career high for UNI in the loss, as she finished her game with 30 points on 10-for-18 shooting, four-for-six from 3-point range.
Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly had high praise for McDermott and even compared her to one of the best college basketball players in the nation.
“I don’t like to compare people, but if you sat in the seats and didn’t know any better, you’d think that’s Caitlin Clark. We even tried to guard her the same as [Clark],” Fennelly said.
Prior to this game, McDermott had been one of the few bright spots from the Panthers team that had struggled to find their footing with their now 1-8 record.
Iowa State ends off non-conference play with a nice winning streak
Following a tough loss to No. 4 Iowa at home, the Cyclones could have chosen to continue their slippage in play and start piling on losses that were not needed.
But Iowa State did not hang its head low on that loss, as it is now set for further success heading into the Big 12 conference schedule with a three-game winning streak.
Fennelly gave credit to his young team for what they have been able to accomplish thus far but knows that what comes next will bring a new challenge for his team.
“Through a tough schedule, I think we played through some adversity and realized what it takes to be successful, so we’re looking forward to what’s ahead,” Fennelly said.
Iowa State will take on Oklahoma State to start the conference schedule, but will not have to worry about them until Dec. 30 as the Cyclones get a mini break for the holidays.
