Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus UCF on January 31, 2026 , Win , 65, to, 52
Final
Women's Basketball
65
UCF
52
Iowa State University Athletics
ISU Plays Host to Cyclone Classic Dec. 29-30
12.23.2004 | Women's Basketball
Iowa State Cyclone Basketball
Cyclone Classic
Wednesday-Thursday, Dec. 29-30, 2004
Hilton Coliseum (14,092) ? Ames, Iowa
On the Air
Iowa State's games will be broadcast live on 1430 KASI in Ames and state-wide on the Cyclone Radio Network ... every game is broadcast live and free of charge on the internet (www.cyclones.com).
Quickly ...
The Cyclones close out the nonconference portion of their schedule playing host to the Cyclone Classic ... Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum to protect its pefect 5-0 mark at home and a five-game win streak overall ... Eastern Illinois travels to Ames to face Iowa State in the opening round with first-year head coach Brady Sallee at the helm ... ISU topped the Panthers 72-55 in last year's nonconference finale Jan. 3 ... Mercer and Murray State play in the tournament's first game ... Murray State boasts the nation's top 3-point shooter in Ashley Hayes, who averages 3.38 treys per game ... EIU and Murray State both play in the Ohio Valley Conference ... ISU defeated the OVC's Eastern Kentucky squad in the first round of the Duel in the Desert Dec. 18.
About the Cyclones (8-1)
Iowa State captured the Duel in the Desert title and gave head coach Bill Fennelly his 200th Cyclone victory with wins over Eastern Kentucky and host UNLV ... the Cyclones topped EKU 88-76 in the opening round with a Cox Pavilion record 11 3-pointers ... ISU exacted revenge on UNLV with an 86-78 overtime win in the championship game ... the Lady Rebels ended ISU's postseason run with a 2004 WNIT Final Four victory in Ames ... Anne O'Neil earned tournament MVP honors after posting 57 points and 19 rebounds in two games ... O'Neil had a career-best 28 points in the win over EKU and topped that the following night with a career-high 29 points in the title match ... Cyclone Mary Fox joined O'Neil on the tournament squad after scoring 23 tournament points, including 11 in the championship game ... ISU won its second consecutive road game after trailing at the half.
About the Panthers (6-3)
Eastern Illinois brings a three-game win streak to Hilton Coliseum ... the Panthers are 1-3 on the road, winning at Butler (55-54) Dec. 11 ... EIU is led by Pam O'Connor with 13.2 ppg and Meagan Scaggs with 7.0 rpg ... first-year head coach Brady Sallee has guided the Panthers back from a 1-2 start to win five of their next six games ... Eastern Illinois recorded home wins over Jacksonville (62-51) and Charleston Southern (67-49) on Dec. 20 and Dec. 22, respectively ... Megan Casad recorded three 3-pointers en route to 10 points at Iowa State last season, while O'Conner added a team-best 12 points after sinking 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
About the Bears (2-4, 0-1)
Mercer is 2-4 after losing two straight road games ... the Bears dropped their Atlantic Sun Conference opener 64-50 at Troy Dec. 2 and fell 73-50 at Georgia Southern Dec. 15 ... Karen Hickman and Jessica Miller had 13 and 12 points, respectively, to lead the Bears at GSU ... this is the second tournament for MU this season ... Mercer beat McNeese State (73-67) in the consolation game of the SMU Hoops of the Cure Tournament Nov. 26-27 ... head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols is 27-35 in her third season at Mercer.
About the Lady Racers (3-5)
Murray State brings a 3-5 record and a three-game losing skid to Ames ... the Lady Racers opened the season at the Moran Realty Classic in Chicago ... MSU lost to host DePaul 96-58 in the opening round and won the consolation game 56-50 ... Murray State is 0-3 away from home ... Rebecca Remington leads the Lady Racers with 17.5 ppg, while Ashley Hayes contributes 13.1 ppg ... Hayes is the top-ranked 3-point shooter in the nation, averaging 3.38 treys per game ... MSU averages 61.5 ppg on 37.8 percent shooting ... head coach Joi Felton is 16-20 in her second season at Murray State.
The Cyclones vs. Tournament Field
Iowa State owns a 2-0 series lead against Eastern Illinois, including a 72-55 win in Ames last season (Jan. 3, 2004) ... the Cyclones earned an 88-46 win against the Panthers Nov. 26, 2000 ... Bill Fennelly coached the Cyclones in both wins ... Iowa State has never faced Mercer or Murray State.
Change is Good
Senior guard Anne O'Neil made adjustments to her 3-point shot over the summer, adopting a quicker release and more conventional form ... she has drained 16-of-32 from outside for 50.0 percent accuracy this season ... O'Neil hit 33.5 percent in her previous three seasons with her - uh, well - let's just call it "unorthodox" 3-point shooting form.
30 Seconds of Defense
Iowa State has showcased an aggressive defense this year ... Bill Fennelly, a master of the zone defense, has added a man-to-man defense to his arsenal ... the Cyclones have bought into the system, forcing 13 shot-clock violations this season ... ISU forced three shot-clock violations in the season opener vs. Cleveland State, four against Northern Colorado, two against both IPFW and Drake and one each vs. Wisconsin and at Northern Iowa.
Where They Rank
In the Big 12 Conference statistics, Iowa State ranks first in scoring offense (84.8, third nationally); free throw percentages (.721); rebounding margin (+9.8); 3-pointers made (8.44, third nationally) ... individually, Lyndsey Medders ranks first in the league in free throw percentage (.952).
Home Sweet Hilton
Iowa State is 5-0 at home this season ... the Cyclones have been phenomenal at home during Fennelly's tenure, compiling a 118-22 record (.843) in Hilton Coliseum, including a 52-3 mark against regular-season nonconference opponents ... ISU recorded its first women's basketball sellout last season in the WNIT-NIT double-header March 25 ... the capacity crowd watched the Cyclones advance to the WNIT Final Four with a 66-58 win over Saint Joseph's ... Fennelly's 1998-99 and 2000-02 squads posted ISU's only undefeated home campaigns, going 15-0 and 16-0, respectively.
Players Mentioned
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