Leading up to Iowa State’s (12-9, 3-7 Big 12) game against TCU (10-11, 2-8 Big 12) on Saturday, coach Bill Fennelly stressed two factors as the team prepared for its upcoming game.

First, he said, the team needed to get to the free throw line more.

Secondly, the Cyclones had to win the rebounding battle.

In Iowa State’s 72-69 win over TCU at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday night, those two statistics were all in the Cyclones’ favor. 

“The ball bounced our way,” Fennelly said. “The magic was in the building today.”

The first quarter showed the importance of free throws and rebounding. Iowa State fell behind 22-8 after the first quarter, thanks to an 18-2 TCU run.

The Cyclones hit just three of their 22 field goal attempts and didn’t get to the free throw line once. TCU won the rebounding battle in the quarter, 16-14.

Some timely shooting from Emily Durr kept Iowa State within striking distance as the rest of the team struggled to knock down shots.

“I think Emily was huge,” guard Bridget Carleton said. “She hit the first couple shots after that slow start — I know I wasn’t hitting anything in the first quarter — so [Durr] really kind of got the energy back up.”

In the second quarter, Iowa State dominated the rebounding battle and got to the line much more often than TCU. Led by a 4-for-4 performance at the free throw line by Carleton, Iowa State went 7-for-8 as a team in the second period while also outrebounding TCU 15-6.

Iowa State’s biggest rebounding performance came from senior Seanna Johnson. Johnson, who finished with a career-high 19 rebounds, moved into third place on Iowa State’s career rebounding list.

“That’s the kind of player she is,” Fennelly said. “When you look at it, most young people if you’re 1-for-10, you shut it down for the day.

“That’s a kid that gets it. That’s a kid who’s a senior — the clock is ticking and the number of times she gets to wear an Iowa State uniform especially at Hilton is coming to an end shortly. That’s a great example to her teammates. Your shot might not be going in, but you can do the hard stuff.”

In regard to free throws, Iowa State has been one of the nation’s best teams by free throw percentage this year. The problem is that Iowa State rarely gets to the free throw line.

“They’re a very aggressive defensive team,” Fennelly said. “When you play that way you’re gonna foul a little bit more.

“We really made a conscious effort for two days to just get in the lane.”

Iowa State continued to win the free throw and rebounding battles in the second half. The Cyclones went 20-for-21 at the free throw line over the final 20 minutes along with a 20-16 rebounding edge.

Carleton tied a career-high by going 10-for-10 at the charity stripe. Johnson pitched in with a 7-for-8 performance as well.

“You gotta give all our kids credit, especially Bridget and Seanna,” Fennelly said.

Durr agreed with Fennelly’s assessment.

“I’m gonna give credit to [Carleton] on this one,” Durr said. “She started taking it to the basket. She knew her shots weren’t falling so it was key for her to get going.

“Seanna drove it really well. I looked up and they had five fouls quick so you have to attack them when you see that they have five fouls and we’re in the bonus. Credit to [Johnson and Carleton].”

For the game, Iowa State went 27-for-29 (93 percent) at the free throw line compared to 10-for-13 from TCU.

The Cyclones, thanks to Johnson, finished with a 49-38 edge on the glass. Iowa State won the offensive rebounding battle 17-5, led by Johnson and Burkhall with six and four, respectively.

Iowa State nearly gave away the lead in the final minutes but was able to hang on for the win.

“The car was running out of gas and we had to push it to the locker room but at least we got to the locker room,” Fennelly said. “And we’re not knocked out yet.”