A&M Downs ISU, 65-53, in Big 12 Semi

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ? Iowa State's 65-53 loss to Texas A&M in Thursday night's Big 12 Conference Championship's semifinal did not diminish a great week for a heroic but injury-depleted ISU team. Cyclone wins over Colorado and first-seeded Kansas State showed the heart of a squad that didn't want to see its season end.

“What this week showed was the determination of this team, no excuses,” Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly. “It would have been easy to make excuses after the adversity we have faced.”

The Cyclones stand at 20-12 this season. Texas A&M is 25-7. Iowa State will wait for word on its NCAA Tournament hopes when the Selection Show airs on ESPN at 6 p.m. Monday. An NCAA bracket berth would mark the second straight bid for Iowa State's program and its ninth in the last 12 seasons under head coach Bill Fennelly.

Alison Lacey led Iowa State with 15 points Thursday. Jocelyn Anderson had 10 for the Cyclones. Texas A&M was led by Morenike Atunrase's 19 points.

Thursday's game started badly for Iowa State, playing its third contest in as many days. Texas A&M forced five Iowa State turnovers in the first 4:09 of the game as the Aggies bolted to a 12-2 lead with Fennelly picking up a technical foul. A three by Atunrase made it 17-4 with 14:05 left in the first half.

Texas A&M pressure made it difficult for the Cyclones to get into their offense. Iowa State attempted just nine shots to the Aggies' 18 as Texas A&M led 19-8 with 11:51 left in the first half. Texas A&M's lead was double-digits the last 12 minutes of the initial period.

“Texas A&M is about defense, that is the way they play,” Fennelly said. “They did a good job of disrupting our offense. But we came back. It would have been easy when we got down by 17 points in the first half to fold. We didn't.”

A&M led 37-25 at halftime, as ISU committed nine turnovers before intermission. Iowa State struggled from outside the three-point line the entire game, making six-of-26 shots beyond the arc.

“When you play Iowa State you have to stop their double screens,” Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair said. “You also have to defend their time-out plays by coach Naismith (Fennelly) over there. I thought we did a good job.”

The Cyclones came out shooting to start the second half. When Lacey drove the length of the court and hit a three, Iowa State closed the gap to 41-36 with 14:30 left in the game. But Texas A&M responded with 10 straight points for a 51-36 advantage and never led by less than 10 the rest of the game.

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Team Stats

Alison Lacey

Jocelyn Anderson

Amanda Nisleit

Heather Ezell

Players Mentioned

Jocelyn Anderson

Jocelyn Anderson

Alison Lacey

Alison Lacey

Alison Lacey

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