No. 16 Texas ‘scratches out a win’ at Iowa State

AMES - The Iowa State women's basketball team put itself in a great spot to spring an upset against No. 16 Texas.

When Bill Fennelly sat at the postgame table and reflected on his team's 75-68 loss, he could point to a couple areas that changed the game. As much as Iowa State (9-4, 0-2) did right against the Longhorns (8-4, 2-0) it wasn't enough to overcome some lulls.

'Possession to possession every one is important and we had a few that got away from us,” Fennelly said. 'I think the game changed at the end of the first half.

'You've got to make some big shots. You can't go 3-for-20 in the second quarter and obviously there were some missed opportunities. We got ourselves back in the game and had a chance down the stretch.”

The Cyclones had a one-point lead after the first quarter and tied the game at 30-all with 3 1/2 minutes until halftime. Texas used an 11-0 run - making four of its last five shots - while Iowa State went 0-for-10 from the field to go into the break down 41-30.

'Except for the last two minutes, we stood toe to toe with them and Texas is the kind of team if we don't dig in deep, they're going to try to knock us out,” Fennelly said. 'I thought our kids, in the third quarter, defended great and made some good decisions.”

Ariel Atkins' basket, part of her game-high 25 points, gave the Longhorns an eight-point lead in the third quarter before Iowa State made its push. Seanna Johnson ignited a 7-0 run that drew the Cyclones to within one with less than 30 seconds to go in the period.

With a chance to take the lead, Heather Bowe - who made her first ISU start in place of TeeTee Starks - drove to the basket and was called for a charge underneath the hoop, but the official on the wing called a block. Fennelly, who had to be held back after the call was made, said it felt like some momentum changed with the call.

Jadda Buckley led Iowa State with 19 points and seven assists while Johnson, Meredith Burkhall and Bowe added 17, 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Cyclones had a 36-34 rebounding advantage against the Longhorns, and tallied 12 offensive boards.

'We all went after it no matter what,” Johnson said. 'I think it started in the first quarter when Mere got two big offensive rebounds and then got fouled. That helped our confidence a lot when we recognized if we just go to the basket and get rebounds they might go over our back.”

Texas was helped by shooting better than 53 percent from the field in the second and fourth quarters while forcing 17 ISU turnovers.

'I thought for the most part we just scratched out a win, that's about all you can call it,” said Texas coach Karen Aston. 'But we'll take it.”

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