ISU Knocks Off Utah State With Balance

AMES, Iowa ? Sophomore Heather Ezell led the Iowa State women's basketball team to a 70-40 win over Utah State on Friday night at Hilton Coliseum. The sophomore guard had her best performance of the season with 18 points, on five three pointers, and six rebounds in 20 minutes on the floor for the Cyclones.

For the second straight night, Iowa State played all available players, with no single player seeing more than 28 minutes on the floor. The Cyclone offense was efficient, shooting 40.7 percent from the floor and hitting 11 field goals from three-point range, while their defense was solid, holding the Aggies to 27.8 percent shooting and the lowest offensive output of the season by an ISU opponent with 40 points.

ISU sophomore Nicky Wieben finished in double figures for the fourth consecutive contest, turning in 13 points and three rebounds, while freshman Alison Lacey put on a well-balanced performance in her second career start with 12 points, nine rebounds, five steals and three assists on the night.

“We played really well,” head coach Bill Fennelly said. “It was another good team effort. The first six to eight minutes of the second half, we couldn't play any better. I thought everybody went in a played quality minutes.”

Iowa State opened the second half on an 11-3 run, with seven of those nine points coming from Wieben as she went 3-for-3 in that stretch and knocked down a free throw, to give ISU a 47-25 lead. The sophomore had a perfect night from the floor, finishing 6-for-6 from the field.

The Cyclones never let up down the stretch, leading by as many as 35 points on two occasions.

Iowa State started out sizzling from the field, going 4-of-5 from the field, while holding Utah State scoreless over the first three minutes, as the Cyclones jumped out to a 10-0 lead. The two teams followed with a series of runs, as the Aggies answered with eight straight points to cut ISU's lead to two, 10-8.

The Cyclones answered Utah State with another 9-0 run to take a 19-8 advantage. Ezell sparked ISU in the first 20 minutes, finishing the first half with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting to lead the Cyclones to a 36-23 halftime advantage.

Senior Lyndsey Medders finished the night with six assists, leaving her three shy of Lindsey Wilson's Iowa State career record of 589.

ISU improved to 11-1 on the season and 7-0 at Hilton Coliseum, while Utah State dropped to 3-8 on the year. In the first game of the day, Loyola Marymount defeated Colgate, 85-57, to improve to 8-5 on the season.

The Cyclones will face Loyola Marymount in the final game of the American Family Insurance Cyclone Classic at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Hilton. The day will begin at 5 p.m. with Colgate taking on Utah State.

ISU Knocks Off Utah State With Balance

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Team Stats

Heather Ezell

Nicky Wieben

Alison Lacey

Rachel Pierson

Players Mentioned

Heather Ezell

Heather Ezell

Alison Lacey

Lyndsey Medders

Lyndsey Medders

Nicky Wieben

Nicky Wieben

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Iowa State University Athletics

ISU Knocks Off Utah State With Balance

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Next Event

Team Stats

Game Leaders

Heather Ezell

Nicky Wieben

Alison Lacey

Rachel Pierson

Players Mentioned

Heather Ezell

Heather Ezell

Alison Lacey

Lyndsey Medders

Lyndsey Medders

Nicky Wieben

Nicky Wieben

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