Texas opened up the second half of Sunday’s game against Iowa State with a 7-0 run to go up by 10 points.
That run played a large part in Iowa State’s 74-59 loss against the No. 19 Longhorns on the road, the Cyclones’ first conference defeat this year.
“The start of the third quarter might have been the worst we have looked all season,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. You can’t do that on the road.”
Iowa State only trailed by three, 36-33, going into the half.
“Any chance of us really being competitive to the finish line ended probably in the first three minutes of the second half,” Fennelly said. “We’re down 10 as quick as you can do it and the three shots we got in the first three minutes were wide open. We missed them.”
After the sluggish start to the second half, Iowa State couldn’t find a way to recover.
When Ashley Joens hit a 3-pointer to close the lead to eight points and then drew a charge on defense, the Cyclones turned the ball over and Texas found a way to score.
Fennelly said that’s something Iowa State’s freshman will work on as the year goes on.
“The biggest thing is finding ways when things go bad to make it better, not worse,” Fennelly said.
Due to a cancellation of Wednesday night’s game against Kansas, the Cyclones will have a week of practice. But Fennelly would see his players in a game.
“I want our kids to play. If you told me, tomorrow night, the Big 12 says, ‘Hey you want another game?’ we’ll play,” Fennelly said.
The odd sequence means the team will have only played one game in 18 days before playing four games in the ensuing 10 days.
“We’ll probably take tomorrow off, which wouldn’t have been a day off,” Fennelly said. “We’ve got to get our legs back because then we have four games in 10 days.”
The Cyclones will next face Texas Tech on Sunday, January 10.
