Women's Basketball

WBB: Cyclones close non-con season with drubbing of Prairie View

Iowa State started its game against Prairie View A&M on Sunday with a 25-2 run. The pace fell off slightly, but it didn’t look back.

The No. 12 ranked Cyclones earned a 108-39 win to close non-conference play with an 11-1 record, its best since 2013-14.

“Yeah, night’s like that are really fun when you’re able to come out strong,” point guard Emily Ryan said on the Cyclone Radio Network. “That’s something we really focused on early in the season when we were struggling with that.”

Iowa State was just five points away from hitting the all-time record for scoring margin and seven away from tying the all-time points scored mark for the school.

However, it did set a Hilton Coliseum record for team 3-pointers, collecting 19 on the night.

“I think it did for the whole team,” Lexi Donarski said on the radio broadcast. “We really shared the ball well. The looks seemed open. We were shooting it well.”

Donarski led the team in scoring with 26 points in the game, but there was plenty to go around.

Five Cyclones finished the game in the double digits and Morgan Kane nearly made that six, as she recorded eight points and 10 rebounds on the night.

Out of all of the big-number statlines, Ryan’s might have been the most unique.

The point guard finished the contest 12 points, 15 assists, and five boards to go with it. She recorded a plus-minus of +62 in her 27 minutes on the floor.

“It’s a good way to end the non-conference schedule and get these guys out of here a give them a break,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said on the air. “It was a really, really solid business-like effort on both ends of the court.”

Sisters Ashley and Aubrey Joens nearly matched each other’s numbers combining for 37 points and 18 rebounds.

Nyamer Diew tallied 12 points in her first game back from injury. She’ll look to be as healthy as possible when the team gets back on the court.

“It was a lot of fun,” Donarski said. “It’s good to end it on a good note. We’ve got to come back ready to play. The Big 12’s a tough league.”

Iowa State will take a number of days off for the holiday break before starting conference play against West Virginia on January 2 at Hilton Coliseum.

@cyclonefanatic