After a back-and-forth first quarter, Oklahoma took control of the game for the majority of the game until the last minute. Iowa State made a small comeback with a couple 3-pointers, but weren’t able to get the lead as the Cyclones fell to the Sooners 74-69.

The close score at the end might surprise some people if they saw the entirety of the game. A whistle echoing in Hilton Coliseum for most of the game and a key injury for the Cyclones made it difficult for Iowa State to stay in the game.

Here are three takeaways from the Iowa State and Oklahoma game today.

Fouls, Fouls, Fouls

It was a physical game at the very beginning between both teams. That physicality led to whistle after whistle after whistle for fouls.

Iowa State and Oklahoma had a combined 45 fouls in the game, which led to stoppages and a halt in tempo for Iowa State. The fouls also hurt the Cyclones rotation of players as Adriana Camber picked up three fouls in one and a half quarters, resulting in her sitting for the majority of the second and third quarters.

It also had two Cyclone players, Bridget Carleton and Camber, as well as a Sooner player, Shaina Pellington, foul out of the game with a handful of minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Along with the three players fouling out, there were three players that had four personal fouls between the two teams.

“It’s the Big 12,” Camber said. “I guess that’s all you can say about it.”

Coach Bill Fennelly also added his comments to the foul trouble.

“It’s hard. I mean obviously we don’t have a deep bench,” Fennelly said. “We got to be smarter. Our angles were bad. Our closeouts were bad.”

Bride Kennedy-Hopoate missing

Fennelly needed a physical presence in the paint against Oklahoma and looked to Bride Kennedy-Hopoate to be that player. She came out and was blocking out Vionise Pierre-Louis until the third quarter happened.

With under four minutes left in the third quarter, Kennedy-Hopoate took an elbow to the face. She laid on the court for a few minutes talking to the Iowa State trainers and getting concussion tests.

After a few moments, she gently got her surrounding back and had to be helped off the court as she went directly to the locker room. She passed the concussion tests and came back to the bench in the fourth quarter.

She came back into the game for the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, but by then, it was hard to come back from a deficit against Oklahoma.

“When Bride’s out, we don’t really have a post presence,” Fennelly said. “That was a big loss for us.”

Fennelly said she should be good to go for Wednesday’s game at Baylor, but he’ll know more in the next couple days as Iowa State has practice.

Players stepping up

Carleton went out of the game with 46 seconds left in the game, causing Iowa State to depend on another player to make the big shots.

Carleton has been the leader and the go to player for the majority of big shots this season. When she fouled out, Camber and Madison Wise stepped in to take over that role for the last minute.

Camber hit a 3-pointer to close the Oklahoma lead to four points. Then, Wise hit another 3-pointer to make it a three-point game with 25 seconds to go in the game.

Fennelly has spoken about finding a second and third player to help Carleton in games, but that player hasn’t been consistent. At some moments it’s Emily Durr and at other times it’s the freshmen squad, but Fennelly needs consistency from each of the players.

Tonight, it was Camber and Wise that stepped up and made sure to keep the game close until the final buzzer.

“Everybody knows that we are looking to Bridget,” Camber said. “So, when she’s out, somebody has to step up. I just saw a shot and I took it.”