WBB: Iowa State Falls to No. 7 Texas in Big 12 quarterfinals, 81-69

The following is a press release courtesy of Iowa State athletics communications. 

OKLAHOMA CITY – Iowa State (14-17, 7-11 Big 12) closed out its season falling to No. 7 and Big 12 Tournament No. 2 seed Texas (25-5, 15-3 Big 12) 81-69 Saturday evening in the quarterfinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship at Chesapeake Bay Arena. The Cyclones were able to hang tough with Texas, but UT’s 55.2 field goal shooting for the night proved to be too much.

Emily Durr closed out her ISU career with 25 points, including a career-best nine made field goals with 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range. Bridget Carleton also joined her with 25 points on the evening, going 8-of-15 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free throw line.

How It Happened

Texas broke open a slow going first period with a 7-0 run that made a tied game into a 9-2 UT advantage. The Cyclones responded strongly, with back-to-back 3-pointers by Bridget Carleton and Emily Durr cutting the UT advantage to one at 11-10. ISU’s dynamic duo of Carleton and Durr kept ISU close by, combining for 13 of the Cyclones’ 17 first-quarter points.

UT got the first eight points of the second period, with the post players of Joyner Holmes and Jatarie White combining to help push the Horns ahead by their largest lead at 11, 26-17. ISU was able to break its duck via a pair of Carleton free throws, but five-straight from Ariel Atkins helped kick-start an 8-0 run to push UT’s lead to 36-19. ISU finished the half on a high, as Durr nailed a 3-pointer in the final seconds to cut Texas’ lead to 15 at 42-27.

Durr’s run continued as she put away the first 13 Cyclone points of the third quarter to help bring ISU within single digits at 49-40. Texas was able to push its lead back into double figures throughout the quarter, but Iowa State was able to kick the UT advantage back down to single digits when Madison Wise’s 3-pointer from the left wing with three seconds left made it 56-47 Texas.

Texas was able to stymie the Cyclone momentum, with six-straight to open the quarter and advance its lead to 15 at 62-47. The Longhorns opened its lead to 21 points before the Cyclones struck back, going on a 10-0 run by forcing four UT turnovers to cut it to 11 at 71-60. However, Texas was able to keep ISU at bay and bring home the victory.

Cyclone Quick Hits

*Iowa State has now hit a 3-pointer in an NCAA-record 735-consecutive games.

*Emily Durr posted 25 points, her seventh 20-point game of the season and 10th of her career.

*Bridget Carleton notched 25 points, her 12th 20-point effort of the season and 22nd of her career. She has been in double figures in all 31 games this year for ISU.

*Carleton 594 points for the season, passing Hallie Christofferson’s 571 in 2013-14 to rank fourth in single-season school history.

Senior Sportlight

Senior Emily Durr closes her four-year career with the Cyclones with 965 career points, 218 assists, 295 rebounds and finishes her career 10th in free-throw percentage, shooting at an 80.7 percent clip. Durr started in 41 games for the Cyclones and averaged career-bests in points (12.7), rebounds (2.9) and assists (3.9) in her senior campaign.

Claire Ricketts closes her four-year Cyclone career on a high note, after working her way into the rotation and becoming a significant leader for the Cyclones. She has appeared in 76 career games for Iowa State. In her senior campaign, she hauled in a career-best 2.5 rebounds per game including several game-sealing rebounds for the Cyclones.