Iowa State Blows by UC Riverside, 65-40

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State extended its win streak to six and kept its home win streak alive at 19 with a 65-40 win over UC Riverside Monday night in Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones, now 7-1, shot a season-low 33.3 percent, but used solid defense to limit the Highlanders to 20.3 percent shooting.

"Overall, I thought we did what we needed to do," ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said. "We just couldn't make a shot, but our effort was there."

Much like its last game, Iowa State's shooting started out cold, with the Cyclones hitting just two of their first 11 shots. UC Riverside (3-5) didn't fare much better, going just over six minutes without a basket and hitting only two of its first 16 field goal attempts.

More than half of ISU's 10 baskets were 3-pointers with six treys in the first half. The Cyclones owned a 33-20 lead at the break, thanks to a 17-3 run to end the half. Iowa State hit 30.3 percent in the first stanza, holding the Highlanders to 21.9 percent accuracy and dominating the backboards 31-20.

"We rebounded the ball really well," Fennelly said. "Defensively, we had energy. We didn't have too many breakdowns."

Iowa State opened the second half with a 15-4 run to go up 48-24. UC Riverside never recovered and ISU cleared the bench. Fennelly had a chance to experiment with his lineups, including a five-player set that sported four freshmen and a sophomore.

Junior Lyndsey Medders led three Cyclones in double figures with 15 points and nine assists. Senior Brittany Wilkins logged her second consecutive double-double with 12 points and a career-best 14 rebounds, giving her four double-doubles this season and seven for her career. Freshman Heather Ezell had 10 points, while sophomore Lisa Bildeaux added nine points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

Iowa State was four rebounds shy of the school record with 64 caroms, while UCR managed 35 boards, ISU's largest rebounding margin of the season. The Cyclones took over half of their shots from behind the arc, sinking 9-of-32 treys. The Highlanders launched 38 3-point tries, connecting on just 18.4 percent.

"We have to bust it for three more days," Fennelly said. "We need a break, we need it bad."

ISU travels to Minnesota Thursday for its third game in six days. The Golden Gophers have been idle since a Dec. 13 loss at South Carolina (79-61).

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Team Stats

Lyndsey Medders

Brittany Wilkins

Heather Ezell

Lisa Bildeaux

Players Mentioned

Lisa Bildeaux

Lisa Bildeaux

Heather Ezell

Lyndsey Medders

Lyndsey Medders

Brittany Wilkins

Brittany Wilkins

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Iowa State University Athletics