Belanger Leads Iowa State Past Kansas, 69-61

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (9-4, 2-0 Big 12) downed Kansas (7-6, 0-2 Big 12) Wednesday night 69-61 to remain unbeaten in Big 12 play. The Cyclones were led by a commanding performance by Hannah Belanger with 19 points and six 3-pointers.

After the Jayhawks found a double-digit lead to begin the second quarter, the Cyclones answered outscoring KU 16-7 to knot things at 24 at the intermission. Led by 13 third-quarter points by Belanger, the Cyclones surged ahead by as much as 16 and controlled the lead until the final buzzer. The Cyclones totaled 10 3-pointers, the fifth game this season with 10 or more.

Belanger highlighted the night, scoring a season-high 19 points and delivering a season-high six 3-pointers. The senior shot at 60 percent from the 3-point line while hitting the milestone of 2,000 career points.

Addy Brown performed to her seventh double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, also adding four assists and two steals. Audi Crooks went out to her 12th-straight double figure performance with 11 points to bring the double-figure scorers total to three.

How it Happened

A buzzer beating basket by Crooks put Iowa State ahead on its first possession before Kansas took a lead of 5-4, going on to extend a seven-point advantage of 13-6 midway through the first. Jalynn Bristow would end the 8-0 run out of the timeout, but the Jayhawks pushed on to bring their lead to nine at 17-8 after one played.

Kansas opened the quarter going up by double digits, but the Cyclones responded beginning to chip away at the visitor's lead. At the 5:49 mark, Emily Ryan sent in a free throw, beginning a run of six to trim KU's lead down to two (20-18). Kansas followed to run ahead by six, but with less than a minute in the half remaining, Belanger delivered the 3-pointer to make it 24-21. Brown then converted on an and one opportunity with five seconds on the clock, bringing the contest to a tie of 24-24 at halftime.

Two free throws by Crooks gave the Cyclones their first lead since the first quarter as the third frame began, while another tie followed but an Arianna Jackson triple found the net to make it 29-26, ISU. The 3-pointers continued to fall, with Belanger connecting on another on ISU's next trip down the court. KU then made one of its own, but the duo of Jackson and Belanger went back-to-back from deep once more as Iowa State jumped ahead by nine at 38-29. Belanger was not done there, sending in her fourth 3 while drawing the foul, making it a four-point play and an 11-point advantage with 5:21 in the third. The run continued to eight straight with yet another from deep from Belanger and the quarter went on to end with ISU ahead at 48-37.

Nyamer Diew entered the fourth sending in a 3-pointer while Crooks put in a pair of free throws to build the Cyclones' lead to 16. Belanger remained unstoppable, putting in her sixth of the game while Brown sent in one of her own, making the scoreboard read 59-43. Kansas responded with a run of 10 to come within six, but ISU fought on to seal the win.

Top Performances

Hannah Belanger downed her previous season highs of 15 points and four 3-pointers with 19 points and six triples. The guard came alive in the third, making four 3-pointers on five attempts and totaling 13 points in the quarter alone. The performance brought her career total to exactly 2,000 points, becoming the 14th active NCAA women's basketball player to hit the mark.

Notes

With Hannah Belanger's 3-pointer late in the second quarter, Iowa State has now recorded a triple in an NCAA women's basketball record 907 consecutive games.
Head coach Bill Fennelly improved his career record to 765-358 and his Iowa State record moves to 599-305 overall and 41-21 against Kansas.
Iowa State takes the lead in the all-time series record against Kansas, moving to 49-48 overall and 29-16 in Ames. The Cyclones have now won 17 of the last 18 games in the series and each of the last eight played in Hilton Coliseum.
The Cyclones have won each of their last five games and are also riding a six-game Big 12 win streak.
With 10 made 3-pointers, Iowa State has made double-digit triples in five games this season and 278 times over the course of its 907-game streak with a made 3-pointer.
ISU has outrebounded every opponent this season, grabbing 40 boards tonight compared to Kansas' 27.
Hannah Belanger had a historic night, making her 120^th career start and her 12^th as a Cyclone and with one assist reached 350 career assists. She also became the 14^th active NCAA women's basketball player to reach the 2,000^th point mark following a season-best 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. She has now scored 2,000 points in her career with 118 at Iowa State. Belanger scored 10 of her 19 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter, following a rare four-point play.
With 11 points, Audi Crooks scored her 200^th point as a Cyclone. She has made 83 field goals and is 51 from the fifth most made field goals by a freshman in program history (Angie Welle, 1998-99 – 134).
With four assists, Addy Brown reached 70 assists through just 13 games. She is also 12 points away from 200 points this season.
Brown recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Up Next

Iowa State heads to Provo, Utah to meet BYU this Saturday, Jan. 6 at 5 p.m. CT.

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Team Stats

Hannah Belanger

Addy Brown

Audi Crooks

Arianna Jackson

Players Mentioned

Hannah Belanger

Jalynn Bristow

Addy Brown

Audi Crooks

Nyamer Diew

Arianna Jackson

Emily Ryan

Players Mentioned

Hannah Belanger

Jalynn Bristow

Addy Brown

Audi Crooks

Nyamer Diew

Arianna Jackson

Emily Ryan

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics