Iowa State women’s basketball shot the lights out of the gym as they took down Texas Tech 86-65 on Saturday.

The win brought Iowa State’s record to 18-3 overall and 7-2 in Big 12 play, but the confidence gained from the shots falling throughout the game may have been more valuable as the season progresses.

Head Coach Bill Fennelly mentioned after the game that it is a big sigh of relief to end the week with a Big 12 road win.

Electric Offense

Both Iowa State and Texas Tech seemingly could not miss a shot to open the game. The first quarter ended with a score of 24-22, and the shooting splits reflected a hot-shooting opening frame for both teams.

Iowa State finished the quarter shooting 9-14 along with 3-3 from beyond the arc. Texas Tech shot 8-13 and 2-2 from three.

After a bit of a shaky start to the second, the offense once again came alive with the Cyclones finishing the half shooting 59.3 percent.

Iowa State ended up shooting 32-58 and a very strong 10-18 from three. This season, Iowa State has shot 43 percent as a team, so if this type of shooting continues the team will be dangerous.

Bench Scoring

Iowa State received some big-time production from the bench, especially in the first half.

The biggest stories from the bench were Nyamer Diew, who put up 10 points, all of which came in the first half and Beatriz Jordão. Jordão was dominant inside, scoring 11 points and bringing in eight rebounds over the course of the game.

Iowa State finished the game with 23 bench points, which is a strong number when paired with their usual plethora of scoring from their starters.

The Big Three

Lexi Donarski, Emily Ryan and Ashley Joens demonstrated why they are one of the top trios in college basketball, leading the Iowa State offense to 86 points as a team.

Donarski finished the game with 19 points on 6-10 shooting, four assists and four rebounds. She once again shined defensively, holding Texas Tech star Vivian Gray to 17 points on 7-18 shooting.

Fennelly has continually praised Donarski on her ability to play both sides of the ball this season, and she has continued to show why.

Ryan had yet another strong performance, scoring 20 points on 7-13 shooting and dishing out seven assists.

Joens did not have the best game for her own standards, yet she still put up 16 points on 6-12 shooting.

With these three players putting up these numbers, Iowa State will be a difficult team to stop down the road.

The win for the Cyclones ensures that they will remain at least tied for the top spot in the Big 12. Next up for Iowa State is a home matchup against Kansas State at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The last time that these two teams matched up, Iowa State mounted a comeback from down by double-digits to win 73-70.