Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus UW-Oshkosh (Ex.) on October 28, 2025 , Win , 84, to, 53
Final
Women's Basketball
84
UW-Oshkosh (Ex.)
53
Iowa State University Athletics
Friday, November 30
Ames, Iowa
7:00 PM
Iowa State
4-1
76
vs
50
Montana State
2-3
1
2
F
Montana State
20
30
50
Iowa State
37
39
76
Cyclones Find Balance to Claim 500th Win
11.30.2007 | Women's Basketball
AMES, Iowa- The Iowa State women's basketball team finally found the balance it had been looking for with four players finishing in double digits as the Cyclones defeated Montana State, 76-50, to claim the program's 500th victory Friday night at Hilton Coliseum.
With the win, Iowa State is now 4-1 on the campaign and 500-473 overall in its 35th season of women's basketball.
“I think anytime you reach milestones, what it does is it allows you to reflect on all the people that got you there,” ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said. “The biggest thing it does is it lets you think about and reflect on a lot of people who put in a lot of time and effort. It's an honor to be a part of.”
Junior Amanda Nisleit came up just shy of her first career double-double with nine points and a team-leading 12 rebounds, both career highs. Nicky Wieben led the Cyclones with 16 points, while Heather Ezell had 15 and Denae Stuckey finished with 10. Montana State was led by Sarah Strand with 14 points, but ISU held the Bobcats' leading scorer, Rebecca Mercer, to just four points on the night.
As a team, the Cyclones shot 47.3 percent from the floor and 42.1 percent from three-point range. Montana State hit 34.4 percent for the game and ISU held its opponent to 50 points or less for the third time this season. The Cyclones outrebounded the Bobcats, 50-25, marking the fifth straight game they have won the battle of the glass.
“Obviously (the 500th win) means a lot to the program,” Wieben said. “We were coming off a pretty bad loss and tonight was a chance to come out and play in front of our home crowd. We wanted to come out and play hard. It's always going to be a special feeling knowing that we were a part of the team that got that 500th win.”
Iowa State jumped out to a 16-1 lead to start the game as the Cyclones quickly heated up from beyond the arc once again, getting three straight treys from Ezell and Stuckey.
After Montana State went on a run to cut it to 16-7, the Cyclones ran off another nine straight points to build a cushion, 25-7. The Bobcats went on a 7-0 run to cut the ISU lead to double-digits, 29-20, for the first time since ISU was up 10-1. The Cyclones answered with eight straight points, including threes by Nisleit and Ezell to give them a comfortable 37-20 edge at the half.
Iowa State shot 46.4 percent from the floor and 53.8 percent from long range over the first 20 minutes, while Montana State shot just 26.7 percent for the half and 12.5 percent (1-8) from beyond the arc.
The Cyclone defense allowed the Bobcats to hit just one field goal over the first eight and a half minutes of the second half, building their largest lead of the contest with a 55-24 advantage.
Montana State eventually cut the lead to 19, 65-46, with 4:27 to go in the contest, but the Cyclones pushed back and continued to build their lead again, finishing with a 26-point margin.
Senior Toccara Ross missed the game while serving a one-game suspension for the violation of team rules.
Iowa State will play host to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones currently hold a 10-3 advantage in the series. For tickets, go to Cyclones.com or call 1-888-478-2925 (toll free) or 515-294-1816.
Team Stats
MSU
ISU
FG%
.344
.473
3FG%
.182
.421
FT%
.571
.571
RB
25
50
TO
13
19
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
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