Iowa State celebrated its annual Senior Night by honoring three four-year players at Hilton Coliseum during their game against No. 18 West Virginia on Wednesday.
Each senior played an important role in the Cyclones’ second win against a ranked opponent this season–a dominating 85-68 victory that Iowa State ran away with in the third quarter.
“We always start seniors (on Senior Night),” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. “They’re supposed to go out, compete and do the right things and I thought they did that at both ends of the court. I thought all three of them were good. To have a big win like this on their Senior Night, I think, is special.”
Kristin Scott nearly finished the game with a team-high, scoring 18 points in just 18 minutes of play, thanks to foul trouble that limited her time on the court.
The other pair of seniors, Madison Wise and Rae Johnson, each hit big 3-point field goals in critical moments for the team on Wednesday. Wise added five rebounds, too.
“It really helps when everyone can knock down some shots,” Ashley Joens said. “It kind of gives us confidence and helps the game flow a little more.”
Everyone was on their games, including the underclassmen.
The Cyclones finished with five players in double digits for the first time in a game this season.
“I think for this team, that becomes huge,” Fennelly said. “We can space the floor. (Joens) is such a hard cover that people have to make decisions. We made extra passes to turn good shots into great shots. I thought tonight, we checked every offensive box that we could.”
If they can channel something like that on a regular basis, there’s not many games the team won’t be able to win.
This victory over West Virginia will help the Cyclones improve their NCAA Tournament resume, too. The team is currently slated as a No. 9 seed by ESPN.
“Obviously, that’s another quality win,” Fennelly said. “That’s another win to add to the resume everyone is trying to build right now. I think it does a lot and hopefully gives you a boost going into (the last part of the season).”
Iowa State will close out the regular season on Wednesday, March 3, as the team welcomes Jayhawks to Hilton Coliseum.
