AMES – Brynn Williamson can’t wait to get to the Bahamas, but her Iowa State team had a little work left to do on Sunday before it left.
Behind a stellar all-around effort from Williamson, the Cyclones rolled North Dakota on Sunday, 73-34. The Cyclones held the Bison to 17 percent shooting and only 11 made field goals.
After a sloppy start, Iowa State dominated. Despite turning the ball over 27 times, the Cyclones shot 57 percent from the floor and made nine 3-pointers.
Williamson led the way.
Williamson notched a career-high in points (17), rebounds (7), blocked shots (3), assists (5) and 3-pointers (5).
“I thought Brynn might have played her best game since she’s been on campus,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said.
Flashing a quick stroke, Williamson couldn’t miss against the Fighting Sioux. The sophomore swished all five of her 3-pointers.
Almost most importantly, Williamson showed improved defense.
“We talk to Brynn a lot about the type of impact she can make on our team” Fennelly said. “Number one, she can really shoot it. If you’re going to double team or whatever, she’s going to make a lot of shots.
“I think the biggest thing Brynn has done is she can become, and she’s embraced the role, she can be a really good defender. She’s long, she’s athletic, she’s competitive and I think she’s embracing, ‘I’m the stopper role’ kind of role.”
Chelsea Poppens scored four points to start the game and Iowa State never looked back. Minutes later, Williamson swished two consecutive 3’s to make the score 18-4.
Williamson hit another trey later in the half to give the Cyclones a 29-7 advantage. Nine Iowa State players scored and all 12 players on the roster got in the game.
Fennelly couldn’t have been happier with the blowout win. Not only did Iowa State win easily, the Cyclones were left with plenty to work on.
“It’s one of those games coaches love,” Fennelly said. “You win, you guard hard, you shoot the crap out of it and you get some players to play well. On the flip side, you turn the ball over 27 times, so we have a lot to talk about in practice tomorrow.”
Iowa State will head to the Bahamas this week where they will take on Loyola Marymount on Friday.
“It’s the Bahamas, so you want to have fun,” Williamson said.
“It’s a lot of fun in the Bahamas, but it’s a lot more fun to win games in the Bahamas.”
Sweet shot
Two games into her Iowa State career, Emiah Bingley is proving she can score the basketball. The freshman notched a career-high 16 points on Sunday and hit 7-of-10 shots.
“In practices, this is what we do, we work hard at shooting the basketball,” Bingley said.
Bingley scored inside and out against North Dakota. Her driving layup in the first half gave the Cyclones a 12-2 lead. Later, Bingley made a nifty move to push Iowa State ahead 37-14.
In the second half, Bingley hit a pair of 3-pointers.
“I thought today, (Emiah) made better decisions,” Fennelly said. “She got to the basket, she didn’t settle for jumpers, and she can defend as well.”
Quick hits
– Official attendance on Sunday was 7,126.
– Iowa State has now won 67-straight non-conference regular season games at Hilton.
– Iowa State extended its NCAA-record streak of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 550.
– Chelsea Poppens tallied eight points and eight rebounds in the win.
– Hallie Christofferson played a solid game for Iowa State. The junior had 12 points and eight rebounds.
– Nikki Moody saw her first action of the season after suffering from an illness. The sophomore had eight assists against six turnovers.
– Madison Baier also played for the first time this season. Baier grabbed three rebounds.
