The ISU women’s basketball team kept it close the entire game, but couldn’t find a way to break its current losing streak against Oklahoma on Saturday, Jan. 30 at Hilton Coliseum.

It was a back-and-forth affair early on as Iowa State and Oklahoma traded run-for-run in the first quarter. The Sooners started the game with an 8-0 run and the Cyclones countered that with an 8-0 run of their own midway through the first.

Emily Durr turned it on toward the end of the first quarter, which was highlighted when she got fouled on a 3-point shot with .2 seconds left. She went to the line, nailed all three free throws and tied it up, 17-17.

Durr’s success transferred over into the second quarter as she banked in a trey with five minutes to go in the second quarter to give Iowa State a 23-21 lead over Oklahoma. She also displayed her passing ability with a dime-of-an-assist to freshman Meredith Burkhall to increase Iowa State’s lead in the second quarter. Durr finished the game with 10 points.

The Cyclones capped off the first half with a 10-0 run to give them a 35-28 lead over the Sooners heading into halftime.

Oklahoma came out of halftime firing. The Sooners used a 9-2 run to start the third quarter to tie the game at 37-37 and another 9-0 run to take a 50-43 lead in the third quarter. Oklahoma controlled the game from there on out.

But Iowa State wouldn’t go away quietly. Freshman Bridget Carleton and junior Seanna Johnson turned it on, offensively, in the second half. Carleton and Johnson led the Cyclones to a gritty performance to keep the game close. Carleton had three offensive rebounds on one possession, and Johnson drove to the basket, scored, got fouled and converted the and-one to cut Oklahoma’s lead to three with six minutes in the fourth quarter.

At one point, Iowa State cut Oklahoma’s lead down to one, but the Cyclones weren’t able to find a consistent rhythm as the Sooners won, 77-71.

Johnson turned it around from her three-point performance against TCU and finished the game with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Johnson also surpassed 1,000 career points against the Sooners on Saturday. Jadda Buckley finished with 16 points and six assists, and Carleton ended up with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Iowa State has now lost five-straight games and is 3-6 in Big 12 conference play. The Cyclones will take on Kansas on Tuesday, Feb. 2 in Lawrence, Kan.