Following back-to-back losses in Big 12 play, Iowa State senior Kristin Scott said that her team wanted to take out their frustrations against Texas Tech on Saturday.
Thanks to Emily Ryan, they did that from the get-go, blowing out the Lady Raiders 92-73 at Hilton Coliseum.
“We sure had some extra motivation after having a couple of tough losses,” Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said. “We wanted to come home and kind of reboot this thing a little bit knowing what we have ahead of us.”
Behind Ryan’s five assist and 12 points in the first half, Iowa State never had to worry about Texas Tech giving the team a scare.
They ran off with the victory with ease leading by as many as 18 points in the second quarter.
“I think it started with the rest of the team,” Ryan said. “They were making shots so it opened up the floor more for drives.”
Ryan gave her teammates the credit, but as a freshman point guard for the Cyclones, she’s facilitating as well as anyone could ask her to.
The Claflin, Kansas native showed it on Saturday when she finished with a team-high 25 points as well as a +/- mark of plus-25.
“(Ryan) does a great job every day,” junior Ashley Joens said. “She really knows how to get the ball to open players and she’s really aggressive on the offensive end as well.”
Joens ended the game just behind Ryan, scoring 20 points and moving up the all-time scoring list at Iowa State.
After Saturday’s game, Joens is now 12th all-time on the list with 1,455 points as a Cyclone moving past Lyndsey Medders-Fennelly and Janel Grimm.
Izzi Zingaro also made her debut in a Cyclone uniform on Saturday afternoon.
The Canadian arrived on campus early to get a head start on next season and started the fourth quarter on Saturday for the Cyclones.
“That was cool,” Fennelly said. “She’s worked hard at it and our kids were really excited to get her in. She’s not afraid to go hit someone. She’s worked really hard at it and we were really searching for a time to get her in.”
Zingaro finished the game with four points, connecting on two baskets in her first game in Ames.
With the victory, Iowa State improves to 12-7 on the season and 8-4 through 12 games of Big 12 play.
They’ll continue the grind on Tuesday night as the squad travels to Norman to take on an Oklahoma team that gave them a scare in Ames in January. The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT.
| Big 12 WBB Standings | ||||
| Pos. | Team | Big 12 | Overall | GB |
| 1 | Baylor | 8-1 | 13-2 | – |
| 2 | West Virginia | 8-2 | 14-2 | 0.5 |
| 3 | Oklahoma State | 9-3 | 13-5 | 0.5 |
| 4 | Texas | 7-3 | 13-4 | 1.5 |
| 5 | Iowa State | 8-4 | 12-7 | 1.5 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 3-6 | 6-8 | 5 |
| 7 | Texas Tech | 4-9 | 9-10 | 6 |
| 8 | Kansas | 2-7 | 6-9 | 6 |
| 9 | TCU | 2-8 | 7-8 | 6.5 |
| 10 | Kansas State | 0-8 | 5-10 | 7.5 |
