Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus UCF on January 31, 2026 , Win , 65, to, 52
Final
Women's Basketball
65
UCF
52
Iowa State University Athletics
No. 20 Cyclones Hit the Road to Face No. 5 Baylor
01.12.2009 | Women's Basketball
AMES, Iowa - The 20th-ranked Iowa State women's basketball team will hit the road for the first time in over a month, traveling to take on fifth-ranked Baylor at 7 p.m. Wednesday. It is the second in a string of three straight games against ranked teams for the Cyclones.
Who: No. 20 Iowa State (13-2; 1-0) vs. No. 5 Baylor (13-1; 1-0)
When: Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009 ? 7 p.m.
Where: Waco, Texas ? Ferrell Center (10,284)
Live Stats: Live stats will be available at cyclones.com
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield: Rich Fellingham (pxp); Molly Parrott (color)
Television: None
Complete Pre-Event Coverage
Cyclone Notebook
? Iowa State's 12-2 non-conference mark ranked fourth among Big 12 squads this season and ISU won its first league contest for the eighth time since joining the Big 12. The Cyclones are 9-0 at Hilton Coliseum and have won eight straight contests. The Cyclones are 2-1 against ranked teams this season with an exciting 55-51 win over 20th-ranked Vanderbilt and a 63-55 win over No. 21 Oklahoma State.
? For the second straight season, Iowa State will open Big 12 Conference play with three consecutive games against top 25 squads. Iowa State defeated No. 21 Oklahoma State last Saturday and travels to No. 5 Baylor and No. 18 Kansas State this week. The Cyclones went 1-2 in those three games a season ago, winning at Colorado and falling to Oklahoma and Texas.
? ISU seniors Heather Ezell and Nicky Wieben have each joined the 1,000-point club this season. They became the 19th and 20th players, respectively, in ISU history to reach the monumental mark. Ezell reached her 1,000th career point against Drake, and Wieben cleared the hurdle against IPFW. Junior Alison Lacey also needs just 98 points to become the third Cyclone this season to join the club.
? Iowa State has won its last eight games and has won 40 straight regular-season non-conference contests at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones have not lost a regular-season non-conference game at home since the 2003-04 season (Washington).
? ISU is in its 36th season of women's basketball and its 14th season under head coach Bill Fennelly. Iowa State is 530-487 in school history.
? Iowa State is coming off a 21-13 campaign in 2007-08. The Cyclones made it to the second round of the NCAA Championship a year ago, defeating Georgia Tech in the first round and falling to Rutgers in the second. ISU finished 7-9 in the Big 12 for a seventh-place tie with Texas in the final league standings. The Cyclones made it to the Big 12 Championship semifinals by defeating Colorado, 76-50, and 15th-ranked and regular-season Big 12 champ Kansas State, 66-65, in an overtime thriller.
? Head coach Bill Fennelly is 293-134 at Iowa State and in his 14th season with the Cyclones. He is 459-187 in his head coaching career, which began at Toledo in 1988.
The Series
? Baylor holds a 9-5 lead in the all-time series with Iowa State and the Bears have won seven of the last eight meetings. The Cyclones have only won once in Waco, in the first game of the series. In 1997, Iowa State dominated the Bears, 88-43, in Waco.
? Last season in Ames, No. 9 Baylor went on a 9-2 run to end the game and claim a 59-54 win over Iowa State. The Cyclones led 50-44 with six minutes left, but the Bears pulled out the win. Three players finished in double figures for the Cyclones (Jocelyn Anderson, 14; Alison Lacey, 13; Amanda Nisleit, 12).
? Iowa State will try to go 2-0 to start the Big 12 season for the first time since the 2004-05 season when the Cyclones won their first five league contests.
A Closer Look At Baylor
? Baylor has won seven straight games to record a 13-1 record this season. The Bears opened Big 12 play Saturday with a 63-50 win at Colorado. Baylor's only loss this season was a one-point setback (59-58) to Wisconsin in the Paradise Jam. The Bears defeated Stanford, 81-65, in their second game of the season.
? Baylor has been an outstanding rebounding team this season, leading the Big 12 with 46.6 boards per game. The Bears also lead the nation in rebounding margin (+15.2). Five Baylor players are averaging five rebounds per game or better.
? Four Bears are averaging nine points per game or more, led by Danielle Wilson's 15.1 ppg. The 6-3 junior post is shooting 53.7 percent from the field (which ranks 34th nationally) and is leading the squad with 8.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. Senior Rachel Allison ranks second for the Bears with 13.8 points per game and is second on the squad with 11 three-pointers this season. As a team, Baylor is shooting 45 percent from the field and is averaging 75.9 points per game.
? Rachel Allison and Jessica Morrow have each reached the 1,000-point career mark this season. Morrow reached the mark on Dec. 8 against Lamar, and Allison eclipsed it on Jan. 3, against Texas State.
? Baylor has been to the NCAA tournament for the last five seasons, winning the NCAA Championship in 2005. The Bears also claimed the Big 12 title that season. Baylor finished second in the league standing last season with a 12-4 mark. The Bears have finished in the top four in the Big 12 standings in each of the last four campaigns.
? Head coach Kim Mulkey is in her ninth season at Baylor. She holds a 221-61 career record. She was an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech from 1985 until she was named the Bears' head coach. She is a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
Making the Connection
Heather Ezell played with Jhasmin Player and Rachel Allison on the Jones Cup team two summers ago, when they traveled to Taipai. The team went 4-2 in the tournament and won the bronze medal. After dropping its first two contests, the U.S. squad won its final four games. Toccara Ross and Player also helped each other through ACL tears last season.
Cyclones on the Web
At least 16 Iowa State women's basketball games this season will be broadcast on the internet on the Clone Zone at cyclones.com. Fans can purchase monthly memberships for $8.95 or annual memberships for $79.95. Memberships also allow fans to view press conferences and special interviews with members of the Cyclone women's basketball team. The Clone Zone will broadcast the remaining games this season: Kansas State (Jan. 31), Texas A&M (Feb. 4), Nebraska (Feb. 18), Colorado (Feb. 25) and Kansas (March 7).
Last Time Out
For the second straight year, Iowa State knocked off Oklahoma State by hitting free throws down the stretch. The Cyclones hit 10 consecutive shots from the charity stripe with under two minutes remaining to defeat 21st-ranked OSU 63-55 to open Big 12 Conference action. The Cyclones fought back from an 11-point halftime deficit and struggled offensively throughout the game. Iowa State used defense and rebounding to make up the difference. Iowa State shot just 34.6 from the field and was 4-for-21 from beyond the arc. But ISU posted a 46-30 rebounding advantage and outscored OSU, 15-7, on second-chance points. The Cyclone post players were the bright spot of the game. Nicky Wieben led ISU with 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Amanda Nisleit recorded her second career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
The Votes Are In
Iowa State went from receiving votes last week to ranking 20th in the Associated Press rankings this week. ISU is one of seven Big 12 teams to rank in the AP Top 25 this week. The Cyclones moved back into the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Top 25 last week, after receiving votes for a number of weeks. The Cyclones were ranked in the coaches' poll for the first three weeks of the season, before dropping to receiving votes after the loss at Iowa.
1,000-Point Club Members
The Cyclones could have three different players hit the 1,000-point milestone this season. Heather Ezell (1,109) was the first to reach the mark in the win over Drake. Nicky Wieben (1,024) joined the club against IPFW. Alison Lacey (902) is also within striking distance of the mark. With the addition of Ezell and Wieben, 20 players in school history have already reached 1,000 career points.
Nationally Speaking
(As of Jan. 12) Iowa State ranks in the top 50 of nine NCAA statistical categories. The Cyclones rank ninth nationally with their 7.9 three-pointers per game, but that is not all they are doing well. ISU also ranks in the top 50 in: won-lost margin (14), rebounding margin (14), personal fouls per game (19), assist-to-turnover ratio (22), turnovers per game (24), scoring margin (26), scoring defense (29) and free throw percentage (41). Heather Ezell ranks 21st with 2.7 three-pointers per game and 51st with her 39.6 three-point shooting percentage. Alison Lacey ranks 59th with her 1.62 assist-to-turnover margin.
Making A Mark
With each blocked shot Nicky Wieben records this season, she adds to her Iowa State career record, which currently sits at 174. In the final game before her injury last season, Wieben surpassed Angie Welle's previous ISU career mark of 155. Wieben has also moved up the Big 12 career list, passing Baylor's Steffanie Blackmon (159, 2002-05) for 10th place. Three other current players in the Big 12 are also in the career top 10.
Jocelyn Anderson also ranks in Iowa State's career top 10 for blocked shots, sitting in a tie for sixth place with 87. She now needs five to move into a tie for fifth place with Stephannie Smith (92).
Heather Ezell ranks 14th in Iowa State career scoring with 1,109 points. She is 49 points shy of 13th place (Colleen Peterson, 1,158). She is also moving up the ISU career three-pointer list, ranking fourth with 239 treys in her career. She surpassed Lindsey Wilson (214) for fourth place against Drake. She needs two to move up to third place with Megan Ronhovde (241).
Raining Threes
Iowa State's 18 three-pointers against Detroit tied the Iowa State single-game record previously set against Missouri Feb. 19, 2000. ISU's 48 three-point attempts vs. the Titans broke the single-game school record. The previous record was 44 against Liberty set on Dec. 9, 2000. Heather Ezell contributed eight of those three-pointers, but that mark was two shy of her career high. She has hit seven or more three-pointers in a single game five times in her career.
Iowa State has hit 10 or more treys in five games this season and Ezell has hit three or more treys in nine of Iowa State's 15 games this season.
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