Cyclones Suffer Heartbreak in 45-42 Loss

AMES, Iowa ? Iowa State played a solid defensive game, but couldn't get shots to fall, dropping a heartbreaker, 45-42, to No. 17 Kansas State Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum.

The Cyclones were down one, 43-42, after the defense made a crucial stop with 14.7 seconds left. Alison Lacey had a driving layup with five seconds remaining, but the ball rolled over the rim and forced Iowa State to foul. Marlies Gipson hit a pair of free throws for the Wildcats and the Cyclones ran a play to try for the tie, but ISU wasn't able to get a look at the three-pointer and K-State clinched the win.

With the loss, Iowa State dropped to 15-8 and 4-6 in the Big 12, while the Wildcats improved to 17-6 overall and 9-1 in the league. The Cyclones' next three opponents are also ranked in the AP top 20. Iowa State will travel next to No. 15 Oklahoma State on Sunday.

“It's frustrating because you feel like if you make a couple of shots, you have a chance to win the game,” ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said. “Defensively we were solid for the most part. We are a team that relies on making shots and we weren't able to do that.”

The Cyclones shot 32 percent for the contest, their worst shooting night of the season, and 19 percent (4-21) from three-point range. Lacey led the Cyclones with 13 points, while Jocelyn Anderson also finished in double figures with 10 points and nine rebounds. Iowa State held KSU to its second lowest scoring output of the season, but Kimberly Dietz finished with 20 points, including 18 in the first half. K-State also outrebounded ISU, 34-28.

After trailing 26-17 at the half, Iowa State was much more aggressive in the second period, going on a 13-4 run over the first five minutes to tie the game at 30-all. The run was capped by a Lacey three-pointer and Anderson got the run started with a field goal and a pair of free throws to start the half. After Iowa State tied the game, KSU never led by more than four points the rest of the way.

Kansas State took a 34-30 lead before the Cyclones went back to Anderson for a bucket to cut it back to two. Heather Ezell knocked down a trey in the corner off an inbounds play and an assist from Kelsey Bolte to tie the game again at 35. Gipson hit the next two shots for K-State to give the Wildcats another four-point cushion. The Cyclones cut it again to one twice, including the 43-42 margin, on free throws by Anderson, but the Wildcats found a way to finish the game.

Kansas State took a 26-17 lead into the locker room at half behind 18 points from Dietz. The Cyclones shot 30.8 percent in the opening 20 minutes, while Kansas State shot 46.2 percent. The Wildcats were consistently able to drive into the lane and get layups, scoring 14 of their 26 first-half points in the paint.

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Team Stats

Alison Lacey

Jocelyn Anderson

Kelsey Bolte

Amanda Nisleit

Players Mentioned

Jocelyn Anderson

Jocelyn Anderson

Kelsey Bolte

Kelsey Bolte

Heather Ezell

Heather Ezell

Heather Ezell

Alison Lacey

Alison Lacey

Alison Lacey

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