At times this year, freshmen guards Madison Wise and Rae Johnson have completely disappeared from games.

But on Sunday afternoon, with star guard Bridget Carleton only going 3-of-14 from the field, the freshmen guards stole the show for the Cyclones.

Wise and Johnson combined to score 33 points in Iowa State’s 89-66 win over the UC Riverside Highlanders, bringing the Cyclones to 5-5 on the year and continuing to build momentum heading into Big 12 play.

Coach Bill Fennelly was surprised by who starred against the Highlanders.

“You can’t discount the role that they played in this game,” Fennelly said. “Emily [Durr] and Bridget [Carleton] struggled to shoot today but those kids stepped up.”

Wise was a starter for the seventh time this season, sharing ball-handling responsibilities with senior guard Emily Durr and Carleton from the opening tip. As Iowa State got off to a slow start, Wise provided a spark with her willingness to drive to the hoop and get out in transition. She had 10 points in the first half as the Cyclones built a 43-32 lead.

Carleton failed to score in the second half and finished with a season-low 10 points. Durr shot 1-for-4 and had three points in 21 minutes. 

Wise was happy to step up and take some of the weight off of Carleton and called on her fellow freshmen to keep performing.

“We need to show up,” Wise said. “We can’t play like freshmen anymore, we’re nine games in.”

The Cyclones shot 44.1 percent from the floor and once again had 20-plus assists as a team, with 23 of 30 made shots being assisted, and Johnson led the team with a career-high nine assists. The Cyclones also had a season-low 10 turnovers.

Johnson, a native of Albertville, Minn., came off the bench to score 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Johnson has had her fair share of struggles this year, being held scoreless in three of the Cyclones’ games this year. She has only eclipsed five points three times this year, and before Sunday’s game she was shooting 6-of-26 from three.

She went 4-for-5 from deep on Sunday.

Coach Bill Fennelly was delighted with Johnson’s performance, and reminded the media why Johnson was a highly-touted point guard coming out of high school.

“I think this was very important for Rae,” Fennelly said. “She spreads the court.

“Her history is as a shot maker, not just a shot taker.”

Her career night was a big part of the Cyclones’ 44 bench points.

After a slow start which saw UC Riverside take an early lead, the Cyclones were active the rest of the way on the defensive end, turning over the Highlanders 19 times and blocking eight shots. Johnson had five steals of her own and Wise contributed a block.

The Cyclones then broke out in transition and scored 20 points off of Riverside turnovers.

Wise challenged her team to defend at their second-half level from start to finish in future games.

“We need to come in mentally more prepared,” Wise said. “That was big in the second half, [but] going forward we need to come in like that from the get go.”

In a team without a true second option, different players are bound to make their mark, especially in games that Iowa State expects to win. Heading into a difficult Big 12 schedule, newcomers consistently producing would do wonders for Iowa State’s postseason chances.

Johnson is hoping to use her performance to contribute more going forward.

“It for sure gives me confidence,” Johnson said.

Tonight, the Cyclones’ youth movement took another step forward.