Cyclone Offense Powers ISU to 76-63 Win Over CU

Wednesday, February 25

Ames, Iowa

7:00 PM

Iowa State

20-7; 8-5

Colorado

11-14; 3-10

Team	1	2	F
Colorado	31	32	63
Iowa State	36	40	76

Cyclone Offense Powers ISU to 76-63 Win Over CU

02.25.2009 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa ? The 25th-ranked Iowa State women's basketball team finally found the offensive balance it has been looking for all season as three players finished in double figures to give the Cyclones a 76-63 win over Colorado Wednesday night in Hilton Coliseum. The win was the 300th in ISU head coach Bill Fennelly's tenure at Iowa State.

With the victory, Iowa State improved to 20-7 on the campaign, giving the Cyclones a 20-win season for the 10th time in school history and the ninth time under Fennelly. ISU also moved to 8-5 in the Big 12. Colorado dropped to 11-14 overall and 3-10 in the league.

Complete Post-Event Coverage
Final Stats Notes ISU Newsconference First Half Replay		Quotes Photo Album Second Half Replay Purchase Fennelly 300th Win Photo

Kelsey Bolte led the Cyclones with a career-high tying 23 points, including going 5-of-6 from three-point range, and was ISU's top rebounder with nine boards. She also recorded three steals and three assists. Alison Lacey scored 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Nicky Wieben added 19 points. Amanda Nisleit was on the cusp of double figures with nine points and seven rebounds.

“I'm really proud of our team,” ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said. “This is the first time all year we've had to win a game offensively instead of defensively, and they were able to do that. Kelsey Bolte and Alison Lacey played as good of a game as any guard we've ever had in this building on both ends of the court.”

Iowa State's 76 points were the Cyclones' highest offensive output since scoring 84 against IPFW on Jan. 7. The Cyclones finished going 24-for-26 from the charity stripe and were perfect until there was less than a minute remaining in the contest. ISU shot 41.2 percent from the field and 50 percent (10-20) from long range. Kara Richards scored 21 points and posted 10 rebounds, while Kelly Jo Mullaney added 20 points, going 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, for the Buffaloes.

After suffering through its worst shooting half of the season in ISU's last game, the Cyclones came out on fire to open the contest, hitting seven of their first nine shots and going 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Mullaney was just as hot for the Buffs, going 7-for-7 to score 17 of Colorado's first 23 points.

Bolte hit all three of her attempts from long range, including one to put the Cyclones up 14-8. Mullaney dropped treys on consecutive possessions to cut the margin to 18-16, and she trimmed it further to 22-21 with eight minutes to go in the half.

Colorado took a brief 25-24 lead on a field goal by Richards, who finished the first half with 12 points. But Lacey and Ashley Arlen drained back-to-back three-pointers to spark an 8-0 run to push ISU ahead 32-25. CU got three straight scores from Richards to cut the lead to three before Nisleit scored to give the Cyclones a 36-31 halftime margin.

Brittany Spears hit a field goal and a pair of free throws to trim the margin back to one (36-35) coming out of the locker room. The Cyclones answered with a 14-1 run that was capped by a Bolte three-pointer (50-36) with 14 minutes to go. CU sliced the lead to 10 on a trey by Alyssa Fressle (52-42). Colorado got no closer the rest of the game.

The Cyclones will travel to back-to-back road games this week, going first to Lubbock for a game against Texas Tech at 8 p.m. Saturday, and then to Columbia, Mo., for a tilt with Missouri on March 3. The Cyclones will play their regular-season final on March 7 against Kansas at 7 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.