DALLAS, TX — As the Cyclones looked like they were down and out and headed toward a blowout loss, Nikki Moody turned it on.

Moody sank a pair of free throws at the nine-minute mark to bring the Cyclones to within 12.

About a minute later, she followed that up with back-to-back 3-pointers and it appeared as if the Cyclones’ comeback surge was on.

“We got this,” Moody said. “I was thinking we got this, we’re coming back, they’re giving it to us, we just got to keep hitting.”

The Cyclones kept hitting and got within three points with 1:32 left in the game, but a turnover and numerous missed shots down the stretch left the Cyclones just shy of a comeback and eliminated them from the Big 12 tournament in the first round.

While Moody has been a recurring hero throughout much of the season for the Cyclones, it came as a bit of a surprise after a rough first half that saw Moody only score two points on 1-of-10 shooting.

“I think I shut myself down,” Moody said. “I don’t think they did anything defensively, I think it was all me. I couldn’t hit a shot. I let my teammates down in the first half and I tried to pick it up in the second [half].”

Moody’s teammates encouraged her to keep shooting, despite her struggles. They knew that they would need their leader to get going if they wanted a chance to make a comeback and that is exactly what happened.

“People lose sight of it whenever you go 1-for-15, but you look at the second half, she came out, made some really big plays for us, that kept us in the game and got us back within striking distance,” said fellow senior Brynn Williamson.

Moody finished with 17 points and seven assists, but shot just 5-of-25 from the field.

The constant encouragement and reassurance from her teammates helped Moody turn things around a little bit in the second half.

“It just shows how much I love my teammates, how much they love me,” Moody said. “They didn’t give up on me and I didn’t give up on them.”

Seanna Johnson and Brynn Williamson each scored 16 points to help pick up the slack until Moody found her groove, but when all was said and done, it just wasn’t enough.

For ISU coach Bill Fennelly, it was the same story but new day.

“It’s pretty much the struggles we’ve had all year. When you don’t have a couple people show up and make shots, we’re going to get beat,” Fennelly said.

Moody, Johnson and Williamson combined for 49 of the Cyclones’ 58 points.

Freshman center Bryanna Fernstrom chipped in seven and freshman guard Nakiah Bell added two to round out the scoring for Iowa State.

Now, it’s wait and see time. The Cyclones will have to wait the next nine days before finding out if they will receive a bid to the NCAA tournament.

When Fennelly was asked about what he thinks his teams chances of receiving a bid to the tournament are, he joked that — like at home with his wife — it doesn’t matter what he thinks. He said the committee does not take his thoughts into account.

Nonetheless, he made a case for his team.

“We tied for third in the best league in the country, we have some great wins, our strength of schedule and RPI, all those numbers are good,” Fennelly said. “I guess I’ll put it this way: I think we deserve the opportunity to play. If we don’t, it will be our fault, but we’ll see what the decision is.”