Freshmen Impress as ISU Defeats Midwestern State

Thursday, November 5

Ames, Iowa

7:00 PM

Iowa State

Midwestern State (Exh.)

Freshmen Impress as ISU Defeats Midwestern State

11.05.2015 | Women's Basketball

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa – A couple of newcomers were the feature attraction for the Iowa State women's basketball team as the Cyclones won their exhibition opener 79-36 over Midwestern State Thursday night at Hilton Coliseum.

Freshmen Bridget Carleton and Meredith Burkhall put in strong performances, with Carleton leading Iowa State with 19 points, while Burkhall posted 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Four Cyclones finished in double figures, with Seanna Johnson contributing 16 and Jadda Buckley 11 to join Burkhall and Carleton.

How it Happened…
Both teams struggled offensively in the first quarter, both in terms of shooting and handling the ball. The first five minutes of the first quarter saw both teams go 2-of-7 from the field and each squad had three turnovers to its names. When ISU slipped to its only deficit at 7-6, true freshman Bridget Carleton started getting involved, with the Canadian recording ISU's next nine points to help open up a 15-12 lead.

When ISU started to pull away in the second quarter, it was thanks to another newcomer as Meredith Burkhall recorded back-to-back lay-ins to expand the Cyclone advantage to seven at 21-14 in the first couple minutes of the frame. The Iowa State defense also muscled up, now allowing MSU to score for the first 3:55 of the quarter. ISU would expand its lead to as many as 11 points before entering halftime with a 32-24 lead.

The Cyclones were ready to go at the start of the third quarter, running off the first 21 points of the quarter, with Burkhall, Carleton, Jadda Buckley and Seanna Johnson all contributing four points to the ISU effort during the run. The Mustangs finally got on the board for the quarter with 1:34 to go on a Whitney Taylor lay-in.

Burkhall was impressive again in the fourth quarter, as she racked up six more points to get to her 14-point total for the evening. The big lead allowed ISU to rest Buckley and Johnson and continue to get time for its freshmen, along with Lexi Albrecht and Jordan Jensen.

Cyclone Game Ball Goes to…
Meredith Burkhall. The freshman from Urbandale got better as the game went along, as she overcame a challenging first frame to be big for ISU in the next three quarters. She did not limit her impact to one side of the ball, with an efficient night on offense and a strong night on the glass. Burkhall finished with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and seven rebounds.

Cyclone Quick Hits
*Iowa State has now won 33-straight exhibition games. ISU's last exhibition loss came in 1997.
*Iowa State had four players in double-figures for scoring in Bridget Carleton (19 points), Seanna Johnson (16), Meredith Burkhall (14) and Jadda Buckley (11).
*Seanna Johnson posted a team-high nine rebounds.
*Emily Durr led ISU with nine assists.

Up Next
Iowa State plays its second and final exhibition game Sunday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum against Concordia-St. Paul. Tip-off is at 2 p.m., and the game will be televised on Cyclones.TV Powered by Mediacom.