Feb 1, 2017; Ames, IA, USA; The Iowa State Cyclones bench reacts during the first half against the Baylor Lady Bears at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
The following is a press release courtesy of Iowa State athletics communications.
The Iowa State women’s basketball team (13-10, 4-8 Big 12) took down No. 22 West Virginia (16-7, 4-7 Big 12) for a 80-55 road victory on Saturday at WVU Coliseum. The victory marks Iowa State’s first road win over a ranked opponent since Jan. 25, 2015 (No. 8 Texas, 58-57).
The Cyclones got a game-high 31 points from Bridget Carleton and put together a dominant second-half performance, outscoring the Mountaineers 43-27 after halftime.
How it Happened
Bridget Carleton sparked an outstanding first half for the Cyclones, scoring 22 points in the game’s first 20 minutes on 9-of-12 shooting, including four 3-pointers. The sophomore guard put up 11 in the first quarter, including back-to-back buckets in a 7-0 run that helped ISU extend an early lead to 16-8.
Another 7-0 Iowa State run in the second quarter gave Iowa State its largest lead of the game to that point at 30-19. The effort went beyond Carleton’s shooting, however. During that a critical second-quarter stretch, the Cyclones held WVU without a field goal for over four minutes. Iowa State also out-rebounded the taller Mountaineer front line 23-16 in the first half, resulting in a 37-28 halftime advantage. The Cyclones made six of their last seven field goal attempts to close out the second quarter.
The momentum continued to swing in Iowa State’s favor after the intermission, as the Cyclones extended their lead behind tremendous third-quarter performances from Jadda Buckley and Emily Durr. The duo combined to score 17 of Iowa State’s 23 points in the period on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Buckley drove the length of the floor in the closing seconds of the quarter to draw a pair of free throws, and giving Iowa State its biggest lead of the game at 60-41 with 10 minutes to play.
Iowa State opened the fourth quarter on a 13-3 spurt and extending its lead to as many as 29 points with 4:26 to play. In total, the Cyclones held WVU to 9-of-31 (29 percent) shooting from the field in the second half.
Cyclone Player of the Game
Bridget Carleton. Every Cyclone player was part of Saturday’s game, but Carleton was truly the catalyst to the performance. The sophomore guard went for a game-high 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting, to go with seven rebounds.
Cyclone Quick Notes
*Iowa State extended its NCAA-record streak to 696 games with a made 3-pointer.
*The victory marks ISU’s first road win over a ranked opponent since Jan. 25, 2015 (No. 8 Texas).
*Today’s win is the largest win over a ranked team since Dec. 5, 2001 (90-60 at Drake).
*The 25-point margin of victory is Iowa State’s most ever vs. West Virginia.
*Seanna Johnson became the ninth player in ISU history to tally 1,500 career points.
*Bridget Carleton tied a career high with 31 points.
*Jadda Buckley moved up to sixth on ISU’s career assist chart (417), passing Heather Ezell (414), Tracy Horvath (415) and Tracy Gahan (415).
Up Next
Iowa State is off until Saturday, Feb. 11, when the Cyclones travel to Manhattan, Kan. to take on Kansas State. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. tip-off, and will be broadcast on FSN.
