Despite having a considerable height advantage over a
much-smaller Grand View team, Iowa State lit up Hilton Coliseum from the outside
by draining 17 3-pointers in a 94-55 exhibition win Sunday. GVC’s Ashley Brown
took advantage of the shooter’s gym by sinking 8-of-14 treys for a game-high 32
points.
“It was disappointing the way we started,” ISU head coach
Bill Fennelly said. “But we got a lot of kids in the game. It was nice to see
everybody play.”
The Vikings got on the board first and made three
consecutive baskets, including two 3-pointers by Brown, to lead 8-3 at 18:21.
Fennelly pulled his five starters, getting immediate 3-pointers from freshmen
Amanda Nisleit and Gillian Bjerke to spark the Cyclones on offense and pull
ahead for good.
ISU had 12 first-half 3-pointers, while Grand View countered
with eight. Cyclone freshman Heather Ezell, who finished with seven treys, hit
4-of-9 from outside in the first stanza. Iowa State knocked down 52.2 percent of
its first-half 3-point tries and went into the locker room with a 57-31
advantage.
The Cyclones built a big enough cushion to field a
five-freshman lineup for several minutes of the second half. Ten of the 11
Cyclones that played scored in the game, while freshman Rachel Pierson pulled
down 18 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards.
“We won’t see a lot of zone and be able to chuck up 44
3-pointers,” Fennelly said. “Offensively, we didn’t get much out of (the game),
but we were able to try some different things defensively.”
Ezell finished the game with a team-best 21 points. Senior
Brittany Wilkins had 18, while Megan Ronhovde and Nicky Wieben added 12 and 10
points, respectively. Senior point guard Lyndsey Medders dished 11 assists, her
second consecutive game to tally double-digits assists.
Iowa State dominated the boards, outrebounding the Vikings
63-27. The Cyclones had just four first-half turnovers, finishing with 11. ISU
limited Grand View to 35.6 percent shooting while hitting 40 percent from the
floor overall.
“It was a good way to end the season,” Fennelly said. “We
have a better idea of the things we need to work on.”
Iowa State takes a week off before playing host to IUPUI in
its regular-season home opener on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 1 p.m.