Following a blowout loss to No. 14 Texas on the road, the Iowa State women’s basketball team didn’t necessarily need something special to get the ship going back in the right direction.
On Saturday, it got all of that and then some, beating No. 15 Oklahoma 89-67 in a game that stopped being competitive midway through the third quarter.
“We have four games left and I think what you saw from our team tonight was a team that understands how to bounce back and how to play the right way,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. “Whatever happens happens, but I think they’re excited about being in this position.”
The Cyclones casually hit 16 3-pointers on the night and saw Ashley Joens tally 28 points after being honored with a video tribute for breaking the program’s all-time scoring record.
Then, defensively, Lexi Donarski had the assignment of guarding Oklahoma’s Taylor Robertson. The Sooner standout averages 17.6 points per game, but Donarski slammed the door shut on her, holding her to just five points.
“She guards the best guard on the other team – she took her out of the game,” Fennelly said. “It just puts a lot more pressure on other players that usually don’t get as many shots. Not many players out there are getting called to press conferences for defense.”
Did the fans in Hilton see Iowa State’s full potential on Saturday?
“What you saw was maybe the best on-ball defender in the country and the all-time leading scorer at Iowa State,” Fennelly said.
The win gives the Cyclones a 22-4 overall record on the season and keeps them in a tie for the top spot in the Big 12 with Baylor at 11-3.
The pair of teams are scheduled to meet up in Ames, on Iowa State’s senior night, a week from Monday.
“If we win all of our games, I think we might win (the Big 12 regular-season title),” Fennelly said. “There’s probably not many teams left that can say that they control everything. That’s something we’ve stressed with our team, and probably last year more than this, but just to control what you can control.”
Iowa State showed on Saturday that when it is doing that, there aren’t many teams in the country that can beat the Cyclones. Forget Texas, that’s their kryptonite.
But the Texas games are over, and four more await for this group to chase a regular-season title.
The next one comes on Wednesday against a Kansas team that hasn’t lost since the last time it played Iowa State, then they’ll face Texas Tech.
We might see the ultimate atmosphere for a game in Ames, and if the same Iowa State team shows up that did on Saturday, there could be a new trophy in route.
Big 12 WBB Standings
| Position | Team | Ovr. | Conf. | GB |
| 1 | Iowa State | 22-4 | 11-3 | – |
| 1 | Baylor | 21-5 | 11-3 | – |
| 3 | Kansas | 19-5 | 10-4 | 1.0 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 20-6 | 9-5 | 2.0 |
| 5 | Texas | 18-6 | 8-5 | 2.5 |
| 6 | Kansas State | 17-8 | 7-6 | 3.5 |
| 7 | West Virginia | 11-12 | 4-9 | 6.5 |
| 8 | Oklahoma State | 8-14 | 3-10 | 7.5 |
| 9 | Texas Tech | 10-15 | 3-11 | 8.0 |
| 10 | TCU | 6-17 | 2-12 | 9.0 |
Saturday, February 19
No. 6 Iowa State (11-3) 89, No. 15 Oklahoma (10-5) 67
No. 7 Baylor (11-3) 78, TCU (2-12) 59
Kansas (10-4) 71, Texas Tech (3-11) 68
Sunday, February 20
11:00am – No. 14 Texas (8-5) @ West Virginia (4-9)
3:00pm – Oklahoma State (3-10) @ Kansas State (7-6)
Wednesday, February 23
6:30pm – No. 7 Baylor (11-3) @ Oklahoma State (3-10)
6:30pm – No. 14 Texas (8-5) @ Kansas State (7-6)
6:30pm – No. 15 Oklahoma (9-5) @ TCU (2-12)
7:00pm – No. 6 Iowa State (11-3) @ Kansas (10-4)
7:00pm – West Virginia (4-9) @ Texas Tech (3-11)
Saturday, February 26
1:00pm – Texas Tech (3-11) @ No. 6 Iowa State (11-3)
2:00pm – Kansas (10-4) @ Baylor (11-3)
2:00pm – Kansas State (7-6) @ No. 15 Oklahoma (9-5)
7:00pm – TCU (2-12) @ No. 14 Texas (8-5)
Sunday, February 27
12:00pm – Oklahoma State (3-10) @ West Virginia (4-9)
Monday, February 28
6:00pm – No. 7 Baylor (11-3) @ No. 6 Iowa State (11-3)
Wednesday, March 2
6:30pm – No. 15 Oklahoma (9-5) @ Oklahoma State (3-10)
6:30pm – West Virginia (4-9) @ Kansas State (7-6)
7:00pm – Kansas (10-4) @ No. 14 Texas (8-5)
7:00pm – TCU (2-12) @ Texas Tech (3-11)
Saturday, March 5
1:00pm – Oklahoma State (3-10) @ No. 14 Texas (8-5)
1:00pm – Kansas State (7-6) @ TCU (2-12)
2:00pm – Kansas (10-4) @ No. 15Oklahoma (9-5)
6:00pm – No. 6 Iowa State (11-3) @ West Virginia (4-9)
Sunday, March 6
2:00pm – Texas Tech (3-11) @ No. 7 Baylor (11-3)
