AMES, Iowa – No. 18 Iowa State (15-4, 7-2 Big 12) defeated No. 14 Oklahoma (16-4, 6-3 Big 12) Saturday evening in Hilton Coliseum by a final tally of 86-78. The Cyclones earned their fourth-straight Big 12 Conference victory in a shootout win over the Sooners.
Iowa State shot 42 percent from the field and made six threes to eclipse the Sooners in the Big 12 standings. The Cyclone defense continued to shine, forcing 11 Oklahoma turnovers and holding them to under 40 percent shooting.
With a final tally of 32 points, Ashley Joens surpassed Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris (2006-09) for third-most points in Big 12 history. Joens recorded her second 30-point performance of the season and finished with seven rebounds.
Four other Cyclones concluded the contest in double figures. Lexi Donarski finished second on the team after a 15-point night. Emily Ryan and Denae Fritz both ended with 14 points.
Ryan tagged on eight assists and seven rebounds to her final line. Morgan Kane rounded out the team’s scorers with 11 points and nine rebounds.
How it Happened
Oklahoma began with an early 8-0 run before Denae Fritz drained the Cyclones first 3-pointer of the game. Lexi Donarski and Emily Ryan combine for a brisk eight points and were able to keep the Cyclones within two at the five-minute mark. Oklahoma added three more 3-pointers to seize a 10-point lead. Another Fritz bucket along with quarter-ending free-throws from Ryan brought the Cyclones within eight.
Five-straight points from Ashley Joens to open up the second quarter cut the Sooners lead to just five, but an Oklahoma layup gave the Sooners the 30-23 advantage. Joens took over after the media timeout, scoring the team’s next 13-points. Joens finished with an 18-point second quarter that included three 3-pointers and the Cyclones and Sooners went into the locker room tied at 42-42.
An 8-0 Sooners run to open the second half set the Cyclones back, but scoring from Joens, Fritz and Ryan forced an Oklahoma timeout at 50-48. Iowa State was able to regain the lead at 53-52 after the fourth 3-pointer by Joens went through the net. With clutch baskets from Fritz and Kane, the Cyclones closed out the third quarter on a 12-4 run to lead 65-56.
To begin the final 10 minutes, Oklahoma went on a 7-1 run to get within three of the Cyclones. Kane and Joens were able to stall the Sooners late push with a lay-in and jumper to put the Cyclones lead at 71-64. Oklahoma completed a four-point play before the final media timeout, but Joens answered on the other end with two free-throws. Donarski was able to finish a three-point play of her own to push the team’s lead to eight. Iowa State was able to close out the remainder of the game and finish with an eight-point victory.
Player of the Game
Ashley Joens recorded her second 30-point game of the season. The senior forward finished with 32 points (10-of-22 shooting), seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Up Next
No. 18 Iowa State will travel to Manhattan, Kan. on Wednesday to take on the Kansas State Wildcats. Tip-off is set for 6:30 PM
