ISU Knocks Down Key Threes to Win, 58-51, at Drake

Sunday, December 9

Des Moines, Iowa

2:00 PM

Iowa State

6-1

Drake

5-4

Team	1	2	F
Iowa State	27	31	58
Drake	21	30	51

ISU Knocks Down Key Threes to Win, 58-51, at Drake

12.09.2007 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

DES MOINES, Iowa ? Iowa State and Drake combined for just six three-pointers on the afternoon, but the two teams hit four of the six in the last three and a half minutes as the Bulldogs took the Cyclones to the wire. The Cyclones held on, however, for a 58-51 win over Drake Sunday at the Knapp Center.

Iowa State won its third straight to improve to 6-1 on the season, while Drake dropped to 5-4 on the campaign. The Cyclones will take a week off for finals before playing host to Creighton at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16, at Hilton Coliseum.

Three Cyclones finished in double figures, led by Nicky Wieben's 16 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Kelsey Bolte nearly got a double-double in her first career start with 10 points and nine boards. Amanda Nisleit had 11 points, including the three that gave ISU the momentum at the end. Jordann Plummer finished with 17 points for the Bulldogs.

Iowa State shot 39.3 percent from the floor, while holding Drake to 31.3 percent for the contest. ISU out rebounded DU, 44-33, and blocked eight Drake shots.

“Five minutes to go and anyone is going to win it,” ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said. “We were fortunate enough to make three plays in a row. Aus (Alison Lacey) hits a three, and Amanda Nisleit sticks a three and gets a three-point play. And as much trouble as we had scoring, we scored about nine points in 40 seconds. Getting out of here with a win is really good for our team and really showed some maturity.”

The Cyclones got out to a sluggish start, falling behind 8-0 after going 0-for-7 from the floor to start the contest. Iowa State was outrebounded 7-3 and had three turnovers in the first seven minutes. But the Cyclones finally caught fire, going on an 11-0 run to take their first lead, sparked by a Wieben basket and a smooth Bolte three-pointer.

After trading baskets, Iowa State put together back-to-back field goals by Bolte and Denae Stuckey, giving the Cyclones a 17-12 lead. The Bulldogs cut the margin to two, 17-15 on four straight free throws. ISU scored the next five points to make it a seven-point advantage. Wieben scored with 22 seconds left in the half to make it 27-20, but Monique' Jones hit a free throw to send the Cyclones to the locker room clinging to a 27-21 advantage.

The second half didn't start any better for ISU, as the Cyclones went 1-for-6 from the field to begin the last 20 minutes. Jones scored on back-to-back plays for Drake, cutting the lead to two, 27-25. The Bulldogs got it to a one-point deficit, 28-27, but Iowa State got consecutive field goals to again give it a cushion.

The Bulldogs wouldn't go away though. Every time the Cyclones would get a four-point margin or better, Drake answered. DU cut the lead again to one, 36-35, and eventually tied it at 39-all and again at 41-all. The Bulldogs took their first lead of the contest, 42-41, when Lindsay Whorton knocked down one of three free-throws after the Cyclones were called for a foul on a shot beyond the arc.

The Cyclones retook the lead on a layup by Stuckey and Lacey followed by knocking down her first three of the contest and only ISU's second of the game with 3:20 remaining to give ISU a 46-42 margin. But Whorton came up big for DU and matched it with a three of her own, closing the gap back to one.

Nisleit answered and drained a huge three for ISU that gave Iowa State the final push it needed. After the Cyclones collected the defensive rebound on the other end, Nisleit took the ball to the basket for a layup and a conventional three-point play to give ISU a 52-45 lead with 1:11 left. But Plummer once again answered for Drake, hitting another three. The Cyclones hung on by hitting free throws to win 58-51.