Senior leaders make game-winning plays. Especially when the team is in a slump. The trio of Nikki Moody, Brynn Williamson and Fallon Ellis did just that for the Cyclones against Oklahoma.

After losing five of the previous six games, the Cyclones (16-9, 7-7 Big 12) rode their seniors to an 84-76 victory against the Sooners (16-9, 10-4 Big 12), the team that currently sits in second place in the Big 12 standings.

The team finally uncovered an offense that had been nearly dormant in recent weeks. The Cyclones hit big shots for the first time in a long time and the result was a huge win in a game with post-season implications.

“We needed it bad,” Moody said of the game’s importance. “We knew coming into this game that we had to start a wining streak and that’s what we did.”

Regulation wasn’t enough for either of the teams to pull ahead from each other, as the first 40 minutes of the game ended in a 70-70 tie. In overtime, the Cyclones’ seniors got the job done.

Moody hit a big-time 3 with a little more than two minutes left in overtime to give the Cyclones a three-point lead. Williamson hit a difficult layup as the shot clock expired to extend the lead.

The duo lived at the free-throw line down the stretch as the Sooners were forced to foul in desperation. The Cyclones cashed in on those last-minute free throws to ice the game.

When all was said and done, Williamson tied a career-high 24 points, including five made 3-pointers and chipped in eight rebounds as well.

Moody pitched in 22 points of her own and Ellis scored nine points, but was huge on the glass as she puled down a career-high 14 rebounds.

“You just look at the stat sheet and the seniors won the game,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “That’s what Iowa State seniors are supposed to [do]. Game in, game out this year’s class has not done that as much as I’d like but they did tonight.”

The stellar performance came after a game where Nikki Moody and Brynn Williamson combined to shoot only 10-38 from the field. This time around, the two seniors, two of Iowa State’s most vital players, redeemed themselves against Oklahoma.

While this game was undoubtedly crucial for the Cyclones conference standing position and post-season run, Fennelly warned that beating Oklahoma means nothing if the team does not follow it up with more wins in weeks to come.

“You don’t get to nine [conference wins] unless you start with seven, and then eight and then nine. So yeah, I think its fair to say it’s a swing game or it puts you in a better position,” Fennelly said.