Iowa State Falls to No. 14 Colorado

AMES, Iowa (AP) - Veronica Johns-Richardson matched her career high with 16 points and No. 14 Colorado shut down Iowa State with tough, physical defense in a 62-51 victory Sunday.

Iowa State (9-7, 2-3 Big 12) had upset then-No. 2 Texas Tech and 15th-ranked Oklahoma in its two previous home games but couldn't muster the offense to do it again.

Colorado (16-2, 5-1) forced Iowa State into 21 turnovers and held the Cyclones to 7-for-23 shooting in building a 10-point halftime lead. The lead was never below five in the second half.

Iowa State had success against Colorado's top two scorers with a triangle-and-two defense, guarding Kate Fagan man-to-man on the perimeter and playing zone against 6-foot-5 Tera Bjorklund. It worked to an extent. Bjorklund got only two shots in the first half and Fagan was held to one.

But Johns-Richardson found openings to score off the dribble, getting the Buffaloes' first two baskets and finishing the first half with 14 points. Emily Waner got free for three 3-point baskets in the opening half and finished with 12 points.

Bjorklund, averaging 19.8 points, ended up with 11 points. Fagan, averaging 14.7, scored eight, including two 3-pointers to help Colorado secure the victory.

Fagan's first basket, a 3 from the right corner, gave Colorado a 45-34 lead with 7:59 remaining. Iowa State came back with six straight points to cut the lead to 45-40, but the Buffaloes answered with a 12-1 run to go up 57-41 and finish off the Cyclones.

Waner and Fagan each hit a 3-pointer, while Bjorklund scored inside and fed Johns-Richardson cutting down the lane for a layup.

Brittany Wilkins led Iowa State with 13 points but her teammates struggled to find open shots. The Cyclones' four other starters combined for just 12 points.

After Iowa State's Lyndsey Medders hit a runner to tie the score at 13 with 9:51 left, the Cyclones made only one more field goal the rest of the half. Colorado outscored ISU 14-4 during that stretch to take a 27-17 halftime lead, getting two 3-pointers from Waner and three baskets from Johns-Richardson, the last one a layup after she stole the ball from Medders.

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Team Stats

Brittany Wilkins

Megan Ronhovde

Anne O'Neil

Tracy Paustian

Players Mentioned

Lyndsey Medders

Lyndsey Medders

Brittany Wilkins

Brittany Wilkins

Brittany Wilkins

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Iowa State University Athletics