Cyclones End Regular-Season Road Slate at MU

AMES, Iowa - The 24th-ranked Iowa State women's basketball team will close out the road portion of the regular-season schedule Tuesday when it faces Missouri at 6:30 p.m. ISU is 21-7 overall and 9-5 in the Big 12, and defeated the Tigers, 65-42, in the first meeting of the season in Ames.

Who: No. 25/24 Iowa State (21-7; 9-5) vs. Missouri (13-14; 4-10)
When: Tuesday, March 3, 2009 ? 6:30 p.m.
Where: Columbia, Mo. ? Mizzou Arena (15,061)
Live Stats: Live stats will be available at cyclones.com
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield: Rich Fellingham (pxp); Molly Parrott (color)
Webcast: mutigers.com (for a fee)

Complete Pre-Event Coverage
Notes		Live Stats

Cyclone Notebook
? Iowa State has claimed 20 wins for the third straight season and the 10th time in school history, including nine under head coach Bill Fennelly. The Cyclones will look for win No. 22 against the Tigers, which would give ISU 22 regular-season victories for the second time in the last three seasons.
? Iowa State is in sole possession of fourth place in the Big 12 standings. The Cyclones are one game behind Texas A&M (10-4) and one ahead of Kansas State and Texas (8-6). The teams will battle it out over the final two games of the regular season, with each vying for a top-four finish and a bye in the first round of the Big 12 Championship.
? The Cyclones' win over Colorado on Wednesday was head coach Bill Fennelly's 300th career win at Iowa State.
? After a dismal offensive game at Kansas last Sunday, the Cyclones were on fire against Colorado, using their offense to upend the Buffaloes. Iowa State went 10-for-20 from beyond the arc, including a 5-of-6 effort from Kelsey Bolte, and the Cyclones went 24-for-26 from the charity stripe. ISU was a perfect 24-for-24, before missing two free throws in the final minute of the contest.
? Four of ISU's five league losses have come to teams ranked in the Top 20 (No. 5/5 Baylor, No. 17/14 Kansas State, No. 2/2 Oklahoma, No. 13/14 Texas).
? Iowa State ranked 16th in the Associated Press Top 25 two weeks ago. It was the Cyclones' highest ranking in the AP Poll since rising to a No. 14 ranking for one week during the 2004-05 campaign.
? Iowa State's 12-2 non-conference mark ranked fourth among Big 12 squads this season. The Cyclones have posted four wins over ranked teams and they have all come at home. They include wins against 20th-ranked Vanderbilt (55-51), No. 21 Oklahoma State (63-55), No. 14/12 Kansas State (60-50) and No. 10/4 Texas A&M (67-50).
? Three Cyclones have joined the 1,000-point club this season, beginning with seniors Heather Ezell and Nicky Wieben and capped by junior Alison Lacey, who reached the mark in ISU's last win over Nebraska. It is the first time in school history three players have reached the 1,000-point mark in the same season, but it is the second time the Cyclones have had three 1,000-point scorers on the same team (Angie Welle, Lindsey Wilson, Tracy Gahan; 2001-02).
? The Cyclones have 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 539-491 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 301-139 at Iowa State and in his 14th season with the Cyclones. He is 467-192 in his head coaching career, which began at Toledo in 1988.

The Series
? Missouri holds a 45-22 lead in the all-time series with Iowa State, but the Cyclones hold a 19-7 advantage in the series since the start of the Big 12 Conference. Mizzou won the first 19 meetings in the series and holds a 22-7 lead in the series in Columbia.
? Iowa State has won the last four meetings with Missouri, with its last loss to MU coming in Columbia during the 2006-07 season.
? In the first meeting in Ames on Jan. 21, Iowa State used a balanced attack and a solid defensive effort to knock off Missouri, 65-42. The Tigers' 42 points were the lowest offensive output by a Mizzou team in the 67-game series against Iowa State. The Cyclones were led by senior Heather Ezell with 15 points, all coming from three-point range. Freshman Ashley Arlen turned in 13 points, Alison Lacey had nine and Nicky Wieben contributed eight. Kelsey Bolte led ISU on the glass with nine rebounds. Iowa State shot 42.3 percent from the field and was 7-for-19 from three-point range. ISU outrebounded the Tigers, 45-33. Iowa State went on a 15-2 run to open up a 24-9 lead behind scoring from five different players. From that point forward, the Tigers never got closer than 12 points, and the Cyclones led by as many as 31.

A Closer Look At Missouri
? Missouri is 13-14 overall record and holds a 4-10 mark in the Big 12. The Tigers are in the midst of a three-way tie for ninth place in the league standings with Oklahoma State and Nebraska. Mizzou has won two of its last four, earning a 66-55 win at Colorado on Saturday and knocking off Kansas State, 52-43, in Columbia on Feb. 18.
? After losing four of their first five games of the season, the Tigers went on an eight-game winning streak. Missouri's winning streak included victories over Arkansas and Bradley. The Tigers' other two Big 12 wins have come at home over Nebraska and Kansas.
? Missouri is averaging 61.3 points per game and is shooting 38.7 percent from the field. Three players are averaging double figures. Jessra Johnson leads MU with 13.4 points per game and Alyssa Hollins is second with 13 ppg. Hollins leads the Tigers with 54 treys this season. Johnson is leading MU on the glass with 6.9 rebounds per game.
? The Tigers are holding opponents to 59.6 points per game and are committing just 15.7 turnover per contest. Mizzou is also averaging 9.9 steals.
? Missouri's win against Chicago State on Jan. 6 marked the program's 600th victory in over 34 seasons of women's basketball. The Tigers hold an all-time record of 604-426
under head coaches Alexis Jarrett (1974-75), Joann Rutherford (1975-1998) and Cindy
Stein (1998-present).
? Head Coach Cindy Stein is in her 11th season at Mizzou, leading the Tigers to a 173-156 record in her stint at the helm.

Making the Connection
Iowa State senior Heather Ezell will face a former AAU teammate in Missouri's Jessra Johnson on Tuesday. Ezell was named the 2005 Miss Show-Me Basketball and won two Missouri state championships as a prep. ISU junior Anna Florzak will also face a former AAU teammate in MU's Amanda Hanneman.

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 Kansas game (March 7).

Last Time Out
Senior Amanda Nisleit scored a career-high 19 points to lead the 24th-ranked Iowa State women's basketball team to a 59-52 win over Texas Tech at the United Spirit Arena. With the win, the Cyclones also finished off their slate with Big 12 South teams at an even 3-3 record. Nisleit led the Cyclones with her 19 points, while grabbing seven rebounds. Heather Ezell scored 16 for ISU, including hitting three treys. Nicky Wieben added eight points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. The Cyclones shot 33.3 percent from the field and 32 percent from long range. Tech shot 27.6 percent from the floor and 20 percent from beyond the arc. The Lady Raiders outrebounded ISU, 44-39, and Tech was led by Dominic Seals' 16 points and 11 rebounds. Iowa State outscored Texas Tech 10-0 off second-chance points in the first half after outrebounding the Lady Raiders 24-19, including grabbing nine boards off the offensive glass to give ISU a 22-16 halftime lead. Seals drained the only three-pointer of her career to spark a 7-0 run by the Lady Raiders to start the second half, giving Texas Tech a 23-22 lead. Ezell hit a triple that started a 10-2 run by the Cyclones for a 32-25 advantage and ISU never trailed again.

The Votes Are In
With a win over No. 10/4 Texas A&M, Iowa State ascended to a No. 16 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25. The Cyclones found themselves ranked 25th last week. ISU was one of six Big 12 teams to rank in the AP Top 25. ISU's No. 16 ranking is its highest since ranking 14th for one week during the 2004-05 campaign. Iowa State also dropped to a No. 24 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Top 25 last week.

1,000-Point Club Members
The Cyclones now have had three different players hit the 1,000-point milestone this season. Heather Ezell (1,257) was the first to reach the mark in the win over Drake. Nicky Wieben (1,165) joined the club against IPFW. Alison Lacey (1,039) became the third in the home win over Nebraska. With the addition of these three, 21 players in school history have reached 1,000 career points. This is the first time Iowa State has had three players hit the mark in the same season. Three members of the 2001-02 squad reached 1,000 career points, but they didn't all hit the mark during that campaign. Seven times in school history ISU has had two or more 1,000-point club members on the same squad.

On the Line
Iowa State was an outstanding 24-for-26 from the charity stripe against Colorado last Wednesday. With that performance, the Cyclones have improved their season free throw shooting to 73 percent, which leads the Big 12 Conference. ISU was a perfect 24-for-24 before missing its last two in the final minute of the contest against CU. Three Cyclones have current streaks of seven or more made free throws (Whitney Williams-7; Kelsey Bolte-12; Nicky Wieben-19). Three current players rank in the ISU's career top 10 for free throw percentage, and four more have percentages high enough to make the top 10 list, but do not have the required minimum 100 attempts.

Hilton Magic
Iowa State ranks third in attendance this season (as of Feb. 22) with an average of 9,666 fans per game through 13 games. The Cyclone fans rolled out in record fashion on Sunday, Feb. 15. Iowa State's crowd of 12,242 fans at the Texas game ranked 18th in ISU women's basketball history.

Meeting Their Match
Teams ranked in the Top 25 have met their match in Iowa State this season. The Cyclones are 4-5 against ranked teams this campaign, with all four wins coming at Hilton Coliseum. ISU's win over No. 10/4 Texas A&M was it first against a team ranked in the Associated Press Top 10 since defeating No. 2 Texas Tech, 64-63, during the 2003-04 season. It was also Iowa State's 11th overall win in program history over a team ranked in the AP top 10. The Cyclones' back-to-back wins over Kansas State and Texas A&M marked the first time ISU has defeated teams ranked in the AP Top 25 in consecutive games since the 2000-01 season.

Getting the Stop
Iowa State's defense has been solid all season, holding opponents to 53.8 points per game. The Cyclones have held 23 opponents under 60 points, going 19-4 in those games. Iowa State has held Big 12 opponents in 12 games under the 60-point mark and the Cyclones have held Big 12 teams to 50 points or less six times (including five consecutive games). ISU held Missouri to 42 points on Jan. 21, which was the Tigers' lowest scoring output in the 67-game series, and the Cyclones held Nebraska to a season-low 38 points on Feb. 18, which was the Huskers' lowest scoring output in the 71-game series. Texas A&M's 50 points were a season low for the Aggies and the second lowest output by a TAMU team in the series with ISU. Iowa State held the Sooners without a three-pointer for the first time since Feb. 6, 2008. Oklahoma's three three-point field goal attempts against the Cyclones were the fewest in the entire Sherri Coale era. Texas Tech's 52 points were also a season low for the Lady Raiders.

The Magic Number
Iowa State is 72-14 (.837) all-time in Big 12 conference regular-season play when holding opponents under 60 points. ISU is 53-50 (.515) when a Big 12 opponent scores 60-79 points and 1-16 (.059) when the opponent scores 80 or more points. The Cyclones have lost 15 consecutive contests when allowing a league foe to reach the 80-point mark.

Nationally Speaking
(As of Feb. 26) Iowa State ranks in the top 36 of seven NCAA statistical categories. The Cyclones ranks in the top 36 in: three-point field goals per game (11), personal fouls per game (11), scoring defense (12), turnovers per game (15), rebounding margin (17), assist-to-turnover ratio (21), and scoring margin (36). Heather Ezell ranks 26th with 2.5 three-pointers per game and 57th with her 38.2 three-point percent shooting. Alison Lacey ranks 70th in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Making A Mark
With each blocked shot Nicky Wieben records this season, she adds to her Iowa State career record, which currently sits at 187. 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, moving into eighth place at Kansas. She needs 17 to move up to seventh place.

Jocelyn Anderson also ranks in Iowa State's career top 10 for blocked shots, sitting in sixth place with 91. She now needs one more to move into a tie for fifth place with Stephannie Smith (92).

Heather Ezell ranks 11th in Iowa State career scoring with 1,257 points. She is 27 points shy of 10th place (Pat Hodgson, 1,284). She broke the Iowa State career three-point attempt record on Jan. 24 (796) and ranks third with 270 three-point makes in her career. She surpassed Megan Ronhovde (241) for third place against Baylor and needs four more to tie Stacy Frese for second place. Ezell's 189 career steals rank third in ISU school history and she needs 26 more to move into second place.

Players Mentioned

Jocelyn Anderson

Jocelyn Anderson

Ashley Arlen

Kelsey Bolte

Kelsey Bolte

Kelsey Bolte

Heather Ezell

Heather Ezell

Anna Florzak

Anna Florzak

Anna Florzak

Alison Lacey

Alison Lacey

Alison Lacey

Amanda Nisleit

Amanda Nisleit

Nicky Wieben

Nicky Wieben

Whitney Williams

Whitney Williams

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics