Iowa State Zips Past Akron 76-43

AMES, Iowa - Hilton Coliseum proved to be a shooter's gym in Iowa State's 76-43 win over Akron Saturday afternoon with three players draining at least six 3-pointers each. Cyclone freshman Heather Ezell just missed the arena record by one basket with seven treys, while junior Megan Ronhovde matched a career best with six 3-pointers. Akron junior Jessie Crooks knocked down six triples, all in the first half.

"I thought Megan and Heather were outstanding," Fennelly said. "The dramatically impacted the game on both ends of the court."

The Cyclones won their second game in three days to improve to 5-1 before taking a week off for final exams, while the Zips fell to 1-6 after losing at Drake on Thursday.

Iowa State's first four baskets were 3-pointers, but Akron countered with four treys to narrow the game to 17-14. ISU ran off seven unanswered points to widen the gap, but the Zips took advantage of four Cyclone turnovers in a two-minute span to pull within five points twice.

The Cyclones went on a 10-0 run and closed out the half with a 42-24 lead on 53.6 percent shooting, including a sizzling 58.8 percent clip from behind the 3-point line. Iowa State doubled up Akron on the backboards with a 26-13 rebounding advantage at the break.

Ezell drained 6-of-6 3-pointers in the first half to score 18 of her game- and career-high 27 points, while Crooks sank 6-of-8 treys in the first stanza for 20 of the Zips' 24 first-half points.

The teams traded 3-pointers to start the second half, but ISU dominated the boards to build on its lead. Ronhovde had three second-half 3-pointers for the Cyclones to give her a season-high 18 points, while Ezell tacked on another nine points in the second period to finish 7-of-12 from behind the arc for the game. ISU freshman Nicky Wieben collected 14 points, nine rebounds and flour blocked shots, hitting 6-of-8 from the field. Senior Lyndsey Medders dished 13 assists to give her 27 in the last two contests, three games with double-digit dimes this season and an average of 9.8 assists per game.

Crooks' 20 points led Akron's offense, which shot just 25.4 percent for the game. The Zips shot better from behind the line, hitting on 9-of-29 for 31 percent 3-point accuracy. The Cyclones outrebounded Akron 55-27, but committed 18 turnovers, including 11 in the first half.

"We've got to get a little better each day," Fennelly said. "Today we took a little step back. The challenge is how quickly we recover. Everybody has an off day, but luckily we had two people that didn't have an off day."

Iowa State returns to action Dec. 17, facing Northern Iowa in the Mediacom Cyclone Capital Classic at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The 4 p.m. game is the first game of a doubleheader that also features the Iowa State vs. Ohio State men's basketball game.

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Team Stats

Heather Ezell

Megan Ronhovde

Nicky Wieben

Brittany Wilkins

Players Mentioned

Heather Ezell

Lyndsey Medders

Lyndsey Medders

Megan Ronhovde

Megan Ronhovde

Nicky Wieben

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics