Cyclones Claim 55-51 Win Over No. 20 Vanderbilt

Saturday, January 3

Ames, Iowa

2:00 PM

Iowa State

11-2

Vanderbilt

11-4

Team	1	2	F
Vanderbilt	17	34	51
Iowa State	25	30	55

Cyclones Claim 55-51 Win Over No. 20 Vanderbilt

01.03.2009 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa ? The Iowa State women's basketball team put up a solid defensive effort and Alison Lacey and Heather Ezell provided all the offensive firepower it needed to knock off 20th-ranked Vanderbilt, 55-51, Saturday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum. The win was the sixth straight for the Cyclones as they improved to 11-2 overall and 7-0 at home.

The ISU defense forced Vanderbilt into 27 miscues, including 18 in the first half, and held Christina Wirth, the Commodores' leading scorer, to just seven points. Lacey worked her way out of a shooting slump as she led the Cyclones with a season-high 20 points, including going 3-of-6 from three-point range. Ezell added 18 points for ISU, with a 5-of-8 performance from the field and 3-of-5 mark from long range. Amanda Nisleit led Iowa State on the boards with five rebounds.

Complete Post-Event Coverage
Final Stats Notes Newsconference Final 10 Seconds of Game		Quotes Photo Album First Half Replay Second Half Replay

“I'm very proud of our team,” ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said. “I thought that was as competitive of a basketball game as I have been a part of in a long time, but maybe not the most aesthetic thing to watch. I thought both teams played their guts out. I am certainly proud of the effort of our team and our fans. I told our kids before the game that this is what big time basketball is supposed to be about. We beat a really good team, and hopefully that says that we have a chance to be a great team. I'm a very proud.”

Vanderbilt outrebounded the Cyclones, 40-26. Both teams shot poorly for the contest, with Vandy hitting 37.8 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent from three-point range (5-14). VU entered the game ranked fifth nationally in field goal percentage. The Cyclones shot just 32.6 percent from the floor and was 6-of-18 from three-point range.

The Cyclones escaped a defensive battle in the first half with a 25-17 lead. Vanderbilt took a 12-6 lead with 13:35 to go on back-to-back field goals by Jessica Mooney. Neither team scored for another four and a half minutes before Whitney Williams broke the drought for the Cyclones. The Iowa State defense continued to stifle the Commodores, holding them scoreless for nearly eight and a half minutes. The Cyclones took a 16-12 lead before VU earned a conventional three-point play to cut the margin to one.

Iowa State went on a 7-0 run, with five points from Ezell, to go up 23-15. After a Commodore field goal, Amanda Nisleit knocked down a pair of free throws for the eight-point halftime margin.

Iowa State immediately took a 12-point lead with four straight points coming out of the break, 29-17. After Nicky Wieben hit a pair of field goals to make the score 33-21, Vanderbilt scored five straight. The Commodores cut the lead further, 45-39 with a pair of free throws by Mooney with 5:42 to play.

Ezell answered by knocking down a three and sparking a 7-3 ISU run. Lacey capped the run win a pair of free throws, before the Commodores ran off seven straight of their own to cut the lead to three, 52-49. Lacey hit two more free throws with 28.9 seconds left. VU found Wirth under the basket with 10.4 seconds to cut the margin back to three. On the inbounds, Ezell launched the ball all the way down the court to Lacey who escaped the foul until there was 6.9 seconds left. Lacey hit the first free throw to put Iowa State up by four. A Vandy three-pointer was off the mark as time expired.

The Cyclones will wrap up non-conference play Wednesday when they play host to IPFW at 7 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State will open Big 12 home action at 3 p.m. Jan. 10 against 21st-ranked Oklahoma State.