Sixth-ranked Texas came to Hilton on Saturday and ran out with a 72-59 victory on Iowa State’s Senior Day.

Senior guard Emily Durr and redshirt junior forward Claire Ricketts were honored after the game.

Iowa State hung with Texas for most of the evening, but Ariel Atkins (20 points) and the Longhorns were simply too much for a Cyclones team that finished 2-7 at home in Big 12 play.

Here are the three takeaways from Saturday’s home finale.

Spelling contest

(This is vaguely basketball related, it counts.)

Middle names, just like first and last names, have a large variance. Some are simple, like Scott or Thomas. In some cases, however, it’s a very different story.

During Saturday’s game, Emily Durr and Claire Ricketts had individual videos play on the Hilton Coliseum jumbotron, where they said thank you to Iowa State fans.

Durr’s video played between the third and fourth quarters, and towards the beginning of her video, she said something that captured the media’s attention: According to Durr, when she came to Iowa State four years ago, she had to call her mom in order to find out how to spell her middle name.

Naturally, such a statement had to be investigated. So, at the postgame press conference, the Ames Tribune’s Ian Murphy bravely asked what everyone had been thinking.

“What is your middle name, and how do you spell it?”

Durr challenged others to spell it.

“My middle name is Corinne. How would you spell that? Try that,” Durr said.

Multiple people tried and failed to spell the name correctly before Durr spilled the beans. After explaining the proper spelling – with two n’s – Durr playfully said that her parents “set her up for failure.”

On what was an emotional Senior Day for the Cyclones, it’s this light-hearted postgame exchange that sticks in the memory.

Carleton’s historic season

With at least two games still left in Iowa State’s season, junior guard Bridget Carleton has already made her mark in the Iowa State history books.

Iowa State’s star Canadian became the 29th player in Iowa State history to reach 1,000 career points on Dec. 28 against Kansas, and after a 23-point performance on Saturday, she sits 17th in school history. Her junior-year effort of 528 points (so far) ranks seventh in school history for a single season. She is also working on a top-10 season in steals, currently ranking eighth with 61 steals though 28 games (2.17 per contest).

Carleton has had to carry the scoring load for the Cyclones, sometimes exclusively, all season long. Consequently, in the Big 12 season her efficiency has begun to wane. In 17 Big 12 contests, Carleton is shooting 38.2 percent from the floor and has 53 turnovers (3.12 per game).

Still, though, she leads the team in scoring at 18.9 points per game.

Coach Bill Fennelly continues to marvel at Carleton’s ability.

“Bridget plays pretty much the same every night,” Fennelly said. “I wouldn’t trade her for anybody in the country.

“She’s special.”

She is now only 30 points from finishing with a top-5 all-time scoring season. There’s likely not enough games left for her to break Angie Welle’s record of 676 (from the 2002 season) unless the Cyclones were to win the Big 12 Conference Tournament.

Consistent resilience

The Cyclones don’t quit. That much is certain.

Down as much as 15 in the early third quarter, Iowa State went on a quick-fire 8-0 run to get within seven points heading into the fourth quarter. The run featured a frenzy-inducing a fast-break layup at the buzzer by sophomore forward Adriana Camber off of a pass from Carleton.

As the teams went to their huddles, there was palpable buzz throughout Hilton, whereas only two minutes earlier the Coliseum had been silent.

That seven-point margin was as close as the Cyclones were able to get, but the continued resilience that the Cyclones have shown in the face of a frustrating season has been one of the defining qualities of the 2017-18 Cyclones. In multiple games at Hilton, the Cyclones have fought back from double-digit deficits in the second half to scare ranked opponents.

Against Oklahoma State on Feb. 10, the Cyclones trailed 45-19 in the second quarter, but a 30-point third quarter and a 3-pointer from Carleton to open up the fourth, the Cyclones only trailed 59-58 (they ended up losing 81-73).

The problem for the Cyclones has been their offensive slumps. Giving up big runs to ranked opponents is not a recipe for victory for anyone, and especially not a team filled with young inexperienced players and with only one player in double figures (Carleton’s 23).

Carleton said it was those slumps that lost them the game.

“We’re not gonna be able to have a shot at the end if we have those scoring slumps,” Carleton said.

The Cyclones only won two conference games at home this season, but even as losses kept piling up, they kept fighting and found themselves with a chance to pull off the upset multiple times. That constant fightback is something the Cyclones can build on heading into next season.