Iowa State women’s basketball holds on for 76-68 win over UNI

AMES - History has heavily favored the Iowa State women's basketball team at home when Northern Iowa comes to play.

The Cyclones have won their last five home games against the Panthers by 25 points or more. But as ISU coach Bill Fennelly sees it, history can be disregarded when it comes to Northern Iowa.

'(Northern Iowa will) scout us better than maybe anyone we play,” Fennelly said. 'This is a pretty normal thing with them.

'My minor was math in college, but if you win three quarters and tie one, you're probably going to win the game. That's all that matters to me is we won.”

Iowa State (2-0) started its run for a mythical state championship among the state of Iowa's four Division-I teams, beating Northern Iowa (1-1) 76-68 Tuesday night in Hilton Coliseum.

Point guard Jadda Buckley had a game-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting with five assists while forward Seanna Johnson had 15 points and 18 rebounds and guard Bridget Carleton chipped in 14 points.

Northern Iowa got four of its five starters in double-figure scoring with Madison Weekly (15), Ellie Herzberg (12), Angie Davison (12) and Hannah Schonhardt (10).

'Buckley is one of the best in the Big 12,” said UNI coach Tanya Warren. 'There's no ifs and buts about that. She knows exactly when to take over and when to get everyone else involved and she was able to do that.

'They hit some tough shots and you just have to give them credit. I thought our defense for the most part was pretty good but at times they had better offense.”

Northern Iowa led for just 10 seconds, but was able to hold Iowa State without a field goal for 3:07 in the third quarter and tie it at 45-all on a Herzberg layup.

The Cyclones used a 9-2 run to end the period before the Panthers got within six twice in the fourth quarter, including in the final minute. Iowa State iced the game, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute and ended the night 24-for-28.

'They were physical out on the perimeter so it was hard to get some shots off, but overall I think we executed fairly well,” Weekly said. 'If a few shots go down it's a different story for us. So overall for us, we matched their physicality. They're very physical.”

Iowa State held a 39-35 edge in rebounding with the help of a career-best performance from Johnson. Her 18 rebounds were a career-high and tie for the eighth-most in a single game in school history. The senior is seventh in ISU history with 822 career rebounds.

'I just think having the eye for the ball and hustling,” Johnson said. 'I think rebounding is just like effort for me. I think the more effort you have, the more you'll get.”

Before Iowa State's next game, a home tilt against Drake on Sunday, Fennelly hopes he can find some more rebounding. Johnson collected 15 of 28 defensive rebounds, and the next-highest ISU rebounder was TeeTee Starks, who had six overall.

'We've got to quit waiting for Seanna Johnson to get every rebound,” Fennelly said. 'That just can't happen. It's got to get better. I'm not sure how it's going to get better, but we're going to figure that one out.”

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