Kelsey Joens in action during Iowa State’s win over St. Thomas. Photo Courtesy Iowa State Athletics Communications
The following is a press release from Iowa State Athletics Communications:
ST. PAUL, Minnesota – Iowa State (3-3, 0-0 Big 12) got back in the win column with an 85-44 victory over St. Thomas (3-4, 0-0 Summit) on Wednesday night. With a 3-pointer in the first quarter, Iowa State reached 900-consecutive games with a made triple, the longest streak in all of NCAA women’s basketball. The streak began on Feb. 19, 1995, at Colorado when Tara Gunderson hit a triple.
Kelsey Joens led the Cyclone effort with the first 3-pointer made and 17 total points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor to go along with five rebounds, two assists and one block. Nyamer Diew (12), Audi Crooks (12) and Jalynn Bristow (10) also joined in double-figure scoring. Addy Brown had a near double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.ADVERTISING
HOW IT HAPPENED
Following a St. Thomas layup, Kelsey Joens knocked down a 3-pointer that allowed the Cyclones the historical milestone game. Audi Crooks and Nyamer Diew followed up with layups to push the Cyclone lead to five with 5:56 remaining in the quarter.
Addy Brown got on the board with a layup and Joens added four points midway through the period to push ISU to a 13-4 lead. Iowa State closed the frame on a 10-0 run with five points from Crooks to take a 23-6 lead into the second quarter.
After St. Thomas hit a 3-pointer to open the second, Hannah Belanger countered with a triple and Arianna Jackson made two free throws to push the lead to 19 points with seven minutes to play in the half. The Cyclones used a 14-4 run with two Diew layups midway through the quarter to take a 42-15 lead with less than two minutes remaining. The Tommies finished the half with a 4-0 run as Iowa State held the 42-19 lead at halftime.
The Cyclones started the second half with a fresh spark as Crooks made a layup before Diew knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers. Another Crooks lay in and a Joens triple pushed the lead to 55-21 with 7:02 left in the third. The Cyclones used four-consecutive 3-pointers, two from Jalynn Bristow, and an Isnelle Natabou layup gave Iowa State a 40-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
In the final period, every Cyclone that suited up got the opportunity to record points on the stat sheet. Shantavia Dawkins knocked in two free throws in a trip to the line before Mary Kate King hit a 3-pointer in front of the Iowa State bench.
TOP PERFORMANCE
After giving the Cyclones theirs 900th-consecutive game with a made 3-pointer, Kelsey Joens went on to score a game-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-4 from deep in 26 minutes play.
UP NEXT
Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum on Sunday afternoon to host UNCW Youth & JCC Day. Tipoff in Ames is set for 1:00 p.m. as the game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
