The Iowa State women’s basketball team grabbed a 79-68 victory despite a late comeback attempt from the Red Raiders.

The Cyclones (13-11, 4-9 Big 12) were back in Hilton for the first time in two weeks to take on Texas Tech (11-13, 3-10 Big 12). The game got off to a slow start for the Cyclones, at the end of the first quarter Iowa State found themselves down by four points (14-18) on 6 of 17 shooting.

However, when the second quarter began, the Cyclones started with a 14-2 run and never relinquished the lead from there.

On top of and important win, senior Seanna Johnson also celebrated a historic milestone of her own. Johnson became the fastest player in school history to pull in 1000 career rebounds.

Johnson needed eight at the beginning of the night and after one half of play only had 1 rebound to her credit. A big second half performance propelled her to the milestone as she finished the game with nine rebounds, on top of 15 points and three assists.

“It feels good, but all the credit goes to my teammates and my coaches,” Johnson said. “They have believed in me since I got here and they trusted me to be a part of the program. I just think with the help from them I wouldn’t have been able to get this far.”

Though the Cyclones never gave up the lead after regaining it early in the second quarter, the game had its fair share of excitement. Twice in the fourth quarter, Iowa State saw their lead dwindle to just five points after being up by as many as 15.

Junior guard Jadda Buckley was not about to let the lead slip away, however. Buckley entered the final quarter with just eight points, but stepped up when the team needed her most. Buckley scored 12 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter alone and secured the win going 3-4 from the free throw line.

“This is one of those games where our big three, [Seanna Johnson, Bridget Carleton, and Jadda Buckley] really dictated the flow of the game,” Fennelly said. “We made just enough shots… that’s the nature of this game, can you make a play to stem the tide a little bit? and I thought for about a four minute period in the fourth quarter we did that.”

Buckley and sophomore guard Bridget Carleton each finished the game with 20 points, leading all scorers. Carleton also finished the game with 12 rebounds and four assists, notching her first double-double of the season.

After the game Carleton talked about what this win means for the team and how it motivates then as they get closer to post season play.

“This game was huge for us, especially playing at home,” Carleton said. “Its’s a win we needed, playing on front of our fans they deserve to see our best and that’s what we gave them today. Especially for building that momentum going into postseason play, the Big 12 tournament, this is a big win for us.”