ISU women’s basketball falls to Idaho in Cancun Challenge finale

Junior guard Seanna Johnson takes a shot during a game against the Drake Bulldogs, Nov. 15 in Des Moines. The Cyclones would go on to lose 74-70.

Trey Alessio

Iowa State fell to Idaho in its last game in the Cancun Challenge, losing 97-65.

Iowa State started off 4-for-4 at the beginning of the game, but Idaho went on a 7-0 run to tie it up midway through the first quarter. Idaho worked its way back and took the lead at the end of the first quarter, 19-16.

Iowa State chipped away at Idaho’s lead in the second quarter, but Idaho still led the Cyclones 32-30 at the half.

Junior Seanna Johnson led the Cyclones at the half with 12 points and five rebounds. Redshirt sophomore Jadda Buckley had seven points, three assists and two rebounds going into halftime.

The Cyclones struggled from behind the arc in the first half, only going 2-11 from three. Iowa State also turned the ball over nine times in the first half compared to Idaho’s five.

Idaho developed a promising lead after going on a 16-6 run against Iowa State to start the third quarter. The Vandals led the Cyclones 48-36 midway through the third quarter.

Idaho closed out the third quarter with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to increase its lead 61-45 heading into the fourth quarter.

Everything seemed to fall for Idaho in the fourth quarter as it put away Iowa State 97-65 to close out the tournament.

Johnson ended with a career-high 28 points. She also finished with 12 rebounds and five assists. Buckley finished the game with 15 points, five assists and three rebounds. Sophomore Emily Durr also had seven points.

The Cyclones finished with 12 turnovers and went 4-20 from three. Idaho went 17-36 from behind the arc.

Iowa State’s next game will come when it travels to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to take on Northern Iowa on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.