Young gun rallies ISU past Creighton
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By DAN JOHNSON • REGISTER STAFF WRITER • December 17, 2007
Iowa State's second-youngest women's basketball player grew up just in time for the Cyclones Sunday.
Freshman Kelsey Bolte scored 12 of her career-high 15 points in the second half as the Cyclones overcame a 10-point deficit to pull out a 60-52 victory against Creighton.
Bolte, last season's Miss Iowa Basketball at Battle Creek-Ida Grove, also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
"College has been a big change from high school," Bolte said. "I know I need to step up and play as hard as I can and help the team as best I can."
At 19, Bolte is a month older than sophomore Genesis Lighbourne, the Cyclones' youngest player.
The 6-foot-1 forward is starting to show why she came to Iowa State as one of its most touted freshmen in recent years.
"The last two games, against Drake and today, Kelsey has definitely stepped up," said sophomore guard Alison Lacey, who also scored 15 points. "She's not coming out like a little freshman, she's helping us out a lot."
The Cyclones were down 47-37 with 9minutes of the first half. It led 19-10 after Nicky Wieben's 3-point play with 7:28 left in the half, then was outscored 18-3 as Creighton (5-4) surged to a 28-22 lead.
Creighton, which had been 4-of-18, closed out the half by making seven of its next nine shots, including four 3-pointers.
Iowa State committed 11 turnovers in the first half while playing before a crowd of 7,390 at Hilton Coliseum.
"We were outhustled and outplayed," Lacey said. ". . . We were tired of getting beat. I was tired of them getting offensive rebounds."
Iowa State beat Creighton for the ninth straight time dating from 1994.