No. 13 Cyclones Knock Off Buffs For Second-Place Big 12 Finish

Saturday, March 6

Ames, Iowa

2:00 PM

Iowa State

23-6, 11-5

Colorado

13-16, 3-13

Colorado

Iowa State

No. 13 Cyclones Knock Off Buffs For Second-Place Big 12 Finish

03.06.2010 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa ? Junior Kelsey Bolte carried Iowa State for the second straight game as the 13th-ranked Cyclones earned a 59-41 win over Colorado on Senior Day in Hilton Coliseum. With the win, Iowa State finished in second place in the Big 12 standings, its best finish since winning the title in 1999-2000. ISU concludes the regular season with a 23-6 overall record and an 11-5 Big 12 mark.

The Cyclones played their second straight game and the third this season without senior Alison Lacey. She made the start with the other four seniors and the Cyclones quickly fouled to get her out of the game. All five seniors made postgame speeches to the ISU crowd, thanking them for their support.

“Those young people have impacted a lot of peoples' lives and it's amazing how they stand out there and articulate their feelings in front of all of those people," ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said. "It's unique that we do that here, but two things amaze me: the first is how well they speak in front of all those people and the second is that no one ever leaves. Fans enjoy it and it is very special for the landscape of our program.”

Bolte led the Cyclones with 19 points and four three-pointers. Anna Prins added 12 points and Chelsea Poppens nearly completed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Senior Denae Stuckey contributed nine points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Iowa State's 23 regular-season wins ties the school record, set twice before in 1997-98 and last season. The Cyclones have finished in the top four in the Big 12 in four of the last six campaigns. ISU shot 38.9 percent from the field and hit seven treys. The Iowa State defense held Colorado to 27.3 percent shooting from the field. The Buffs were led by Alyssa Fressle's 10 points. CU outrebounded ISU, 38-34.

"For this team, no one expected them to be here as the number two seed," Fennelly said. "For them to be number two in the best league in the country is really special. They may not realize it now, but this team and this group of seniors will be a team that will come back and have a reunion and it's that kind of impact that they have had. There are a lot of people that wouldn't pick ISU to go to four straight (NCAA Tournaments). We haven't had everything go our way but they haven't made excuses and that speaks volumes about their ability and what it means to where the Iowa State jersey.”

It took more than three minutes for ISU to get its first score as Bolte finally drained a three-pointer to put the Cyclones up 3-2. Whitney Williams knocked in a trey and then assisted on a Poppens bucket as Iowa State led 13-7. Amanda Zimmerman got a conventional three-point play as the Cyclones took a 10-point advantage, 22-12.

Bolte knocked down another trey and Prins got a free throw to put ISU up 25-15 before Colorado went on a 9-3 run to end the half, including six straight points by Brittany Spears. The Buffs cut the halftime margin to four points, 28-24.

The Cyclones shot 35.7 percent from the field and were 3-for-10 from outside the arc over the first 20 minutes. The ISU defense held the Buffs to 28.6 percent shooting, but gave up four three-pointers. Iowa State held a slight rebound edge, 20-18.

On ISU's second possession of the second half, Prins hit a three-pointer to give ISU as seven-point cushion, 31-24. Poppens scored six of ISU's next nine points as it opened an eight-point lead, 40-32. Colorado continued to answer however, closing the gap to five, 40-35. Bolte finally got her first field goal of the second half with a little over 11 minutes left and Prins got a layup as ISU pushed ahead by 10, 45-35. The Cyclones outscored the Buffs, 14-6, to end the contest with an 18-point win.

Iowa State will take the second seed into the Big 12 Championship next week in Kansas City. The Cyclones will play at 5 p.m. Friday at Municipal Auditorium. They will play the winner of the No. 7-10 matchup. Those teams are still yet to be determined.