AMES – Iowa State scored its second-most points in Big 12 play in its dominant win over BYU in an 82-59 contest Wednesday night in Ames.
The Cyclones improved to 14-7 on the season, picking up their fifth Big 12 win of the season and fourth in their last five games.
It looked like two separate teams took the floor in the first and second quarters for the Cyclones, as the shooting improved tremendously in the second. Both sophomore center Audi Crooks and sophomore forward Addy Brown struggled from the field, combining for 3-for-10 from the field in the quarter. Iowa State trailed 18-12.
In the second quarter, Iowa State shot 47% from the field and 50% of its shots from beyond the arc. The Cyclones also shut down BYU from having many opportunities by forcing 11 turnovers. Iowa State took the halftime lead 38-33.
The second half was all Iowa State as it leaned on its strong finish to the first half to fuel a 28-11 third quarter. Iowa State put things away in the fourth quarter to win 82-59. Brown filled the stat sheet with 22 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, while Crooks scored a team-high 24 points.
Brown’s run gives the Cyclones an offensive spark
Iowa State had a tough time scoring in the first quarter and halfway through the second, but really took off at the end of the half. Trailing 23-17, the Cyclones rallied with a 13-2 run that gave them a five-point lead.
During that run, Brown went on a personal 8-0 run, which got her up to 11 points before she finished the half with another three. The run started with an and-one.
“I couldn’t get anything to fall so kind of seeing that go in and just sticking with it,” Brown said. “I was excited to see that I could get the and-one and I think after that, we started to kind of go so it definitely was a turning point.”
The Cyclones outscored the Cougars 26-15 in the second quarter, which helped carry them through halftime and into the second half. The 11 points from Brown in the second quarter showed flashes of what head coach Bill Fennelly wants to see more of.
“I told my wife, I said, ‘Shoot, [Addy] Brown is the best player in the Big 12 if she practices like she did yesterday,’” Fennelly said. “She just can do so many things for our team and wants to do so many things for our team. She just fills up a stat sheet, and was tremendous today.”
The Cyclones shut down BYU’s offense
After the first quarter, which saw BYU outscore Iowa State 18-12 with 46% shooting from the field, the Cyclones limited what the Cougars could do offensively for the rest of the game.
Although the Cougars shot 50% from the field in the second quarter, they only attempted 10 shots after turning it over 11 times, six of which came from Iowa State steals.
“I think we’re a team that’s very smart, very opportunistic,” Fennelly said. “We talk about, don’t go for steals, you get them because you play hard, you’re in the right place, you read the scouting report.”
Iowa State finished the game with 11 steals total and held the Cougars to 35% shooting from the field.
“I thought the majority of the game we did really well [defensively],” Fennelly said. “For us to get 11 steals, that’s kind of surprising. But yeah, Emily [Ryan] is the one that kind of starts all of that.”
Fifth-year senior guard Emily Ryan had four steals to go along with her seven points, six rebounds and three assists.
3-point shooting gets back on track
The Cyclones struggled the past two games from beyond the arc, going a combined 6-for-27 from range. On the season, Iowa State is shooting right around 35% from that spot.
Against BYU, the Cyclones knocked down right around 45% of their shots from 3-point land. Junior guard/forward Sydney Harris and sophomore guard Kelsey Joens each hit two, and four other players hit one as well.
“That definitely frees up the lane a little bit,” Crooks said. “You can’t really send a double team when there are four three-point shooters on the arc knocking it down.”
Crooks and Brown both score a majority of their points in the paint, so it pulls apart the defense when three-pointers are falling.
“A lot of people contributed in a lot of different ways tonight, which is huge for us,” Crooks said. “I think those contributions are going to really help us win some critical, close games coming up.”
