Cyclones Hot From Outside for 78-38 Win Over Penn

EVANSTON, Ill ? The Iowa State women's basketball team hit 13 three-pointers, including five by Kelsey Bolte and four by Whitney Williams, as the Cyclones defeated the University of Penn, 78-38, Friday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena in the first round of the Doubletree White Invitational.

Bolte and Anna Prins led the Cyclones with 15 points each, while six players for Iowa State (2-1) hit at least one trey on the afternoon. Four players finished in double figures for ISU, including Williams (14) and Alison Lacey (11). For the first time all season, all 12 players for the Cyclones saw time in the contest. Prins almost completed the double-double with a game-high nine rebounds. Lacey passed out nine assists to lead ISU, and Chelsea Poppens contributed six points and eight rebounds.

It was a tale of two halves, as the Cyclones played much better over the final 20 minutes. Iowa State shot 56 percent from the field for the game and 63 percent in the second half. ISU hit 59.1 percent from long range for the contest and 63.6 percent in the final period. The Cyclone defense also held the Quakers to 20 percent shooting from the floor and 10 percent from long range in the second half.

“We were mixing up lineups in the first half, and we decided to play certain people in the second half,” ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said. “Alison Lacey and Kelsey Bolte played like upperclassmen. Anna Prins had a really solid game throughout. We just played a lot better in the second half. Penn played really hard and we made some shots, and when you make shots, everything looks a little better.”

After five quick turnovers over the first eight minutes and a 13-12 Penn lead, the Cyclones hit five consecutive three-pointers to take a 27-15 advantage. Bolte hit three treys during that stretch, while Williams hit a pair.

Following a pair of Penn free throws, ISU got scoring from Chassidy Cole and Prins to go up 31-17. Prins scored a traditional three-point play with a little over a minute to play to give ISU a 34-19 halftime margin.

Prins led the way for the Cyclones in the first half with 11 points, while Bolte followed with nine. Lacey had five assists in the first period. Iowa State shot 47.8 percent (11-23) from the field and 54.5 percent (6-11) from long range over the first 20 minutes. Penn shot just 30.8 percent from the field and 12.5 percent (1-8) from beyond the arc.

The Cyclones opened the second half looking like a different team on both sides of the court, going on a 14-2 run over the first six minutes for a 48-21 lead. Bolte continued to knock down shots from downtown, as the Cyclones hit 5-of-6 to start the second half and took a 59-27 advantage.

Iowa State put together a string of four layups by Poppens, Williams and Genesis Lightbourne to push ISU out to a 73-32 advantage. Anna Florzak drained a three-pointer and Lightbourne scored again to give the Cyclones their largest lead of the contest (78-36).

The Cyclones will face College of Charleston at 2 p.m. Saturday in the final day of the Doubletree White Invitational at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

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Team Stats

Kelsey Bolte

Anna Prins

Whitney Williams

Alison Lacey

Players Mentioned

Kelsey Bolte

Kelsey Bolte

Chassidy Cole

Anna Florzak

Anna Florzak

Alison Lacey

Alison Lacey

Genesis Lightbourne

Genesis Lightbourne

Chelsea Poppens

Anna Prins

Whitney Williams

Whitney Williams

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