Iowa State fell 57-49 to the No. 12 West Virginia Mountaineers on Sunday afternoon in Morgantown, West Virginia, in a game that can only be described as a defensive slog. A tense fourth quarter comeback from the Cyclones was foiled by late turnovers, and Iowa State fell to 1-3 in Big 12 play.

Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s game.

Oh boy, that was rough

It was grim at times for both the Cyclones and the Mountaineers on Sunday.

At the end of the first half, the two teams were a combined 16-for-71 from the floor. That’s a solid 22.5 percent, which is incredible, in a way. It’s no surprise that the score was 26-14 West Virginia at the break.

The second half was “better” shooting wise, as the two teams went a combined 18-for-53. Make no mistake, though, this game was not for the offensive-minded.

Junior guard Bridget Carleton was 2-for-11 from the floor in the first 20 minutes, and the Cyclones’ newest 1,000-point scorer shot 5-for-22 on the game. She was the only Cyclone to reach double figures on the afternoon, and as a team Iowa State shot 25.8 percent for the game. Junior forward Meredith Burkhall chipped in with eight points.

West Virginia shot just as poorly. The Mountaineers shot 29.3 percent on the afternoon, and Iowa State shut down every West Virginia player not named Naomi Davenport and Chania Ray (23 and 13 points, respectively).

It’ll be hard for the Cyclones or the Mountaineers to play a worse game on the offensive end the rest of the season.

Hanging tough on the glass

With both teams missing a lot of shots, there were many rebounds to be had. Most expected the Mountaineers to be dominant on the glass, with three players averaging seven or more rebounds per contest and the third best rebounding margin (+8.7) in the conference.

West Virginia had 50 boards to the Cyclones’ 48, but the Cyclones caused lots of issues and put on a strong rebounding display. Six Cyclones had five or more rebounds, and freshman Kristin Scott led the charge with nine.

Iowa State racked up 16 offensive rebounds and took advantage with 14 second chance points. The most important stat, though, may have been that all three of Iowa State’s main post contributors – Bride Kennedy-Hopoate, Scott and Burkhall – grabbed at least six rebounds each.

Crashing the boards and creating additional opportunities is important to winning games in the Big 12, and if the Cyclones can continue to cause havoc against bigger opponents, they’ll have a fighting chance in most games.

Missed opportunity for young Cyclones

This one is going to sting for Iowa State.

After sweeping the Mountaineers last season and capitalizing on matchup advantages in both games, the Cyclones came close to pulling the upset one again. After coming back from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter to get within two points with 2:14 to play, Iowa State will feel that this one got away from them.

Iowa State had the ball with 49 seconds to play down three and a chance to tie the game, but a turnover by junior center Kennedy-Hopoate gave West Virginia the ball. Carleton fouled out a second later, and two free throws by Davenport put the Mountaineers ahead by five and put the Cyclones on their backs.

Fennelly can take heart that, with an inexperienced team and a struggling offense, Iowa State still had more than a small chance of defeating the No. 12 team in the country on the road.

However, the Cyclones are still 7-8 with games against Baylor, West Virginia at home, Oklahoma State and Texas coming before the end of January.