Freshmen lead Cyclones into NCAA's 2nd round

AMES – So much for Iowa State's freshmen post players cracking under the pressure of their first NCAA Tournament game.

Anna Prins went for a career-best 21 points Sunday night to go along with 10 rebounds.

Chelsea Poppens scored 18 points – 16 in the second half – and nearly had a double-double herself in pulling down eight rebounds.

Amanda Zimmerman came off the bench in the first half with Poppens in foul trouble and hit all three of her shots from the field.

On a night when the Cyclones (24-7) welcomed back point guard Alison Lacey after three weeks away while battling pneumonia, their front-line players were the difference in fourth-seeded ISU's dominating 79-42 opening-round victory over No. 13 Lehigh in front of 6,738 night owls at Hilton Coliseum.

“Those kids did everything and more than you could have asked of them,” Coach Bill Fennelly said. “I'm very proud how they handled things… There was a size advantage, but you still have to play and make shots.”

Iowa State moves on to face No. 12 Green Bay, 69-67 upset winners over No. 5 Virginia, on Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.

The Phoenix (28-4) won despite turning the ball over 30 times and failing to score a field goal over the final 12 minutes of the game, which ended late and pushed the hosts' already late start time past 9 p.m.

“Before the game I said to my son, Steven, that I thought Green Bay would beat (Virginia),” Fennelly said. “Their style is very hard to guard.”

Lacey, playing for the first time in 22 days, went the full 20 minutes in the first half, then left the game for good with 11 minutes left to play.

She scored seven points and dished out seven assists.

“I felt good for the most part,” Lacey said. “A little rusty at some points in the game but… I feel a lot better than I thought I would.”

The all-Big 12 senior missed ISU's final three games of the season because of the illness. She looked a step slower than usual, but her presence on the floor has a calming effect.

“Having Aus back changes everything about our team,” Fennelly said. “Everyone is more relaxed.”

She was able to get the ball inside to Prins and Poppens, who had their way with the smaller Mountain Hawks.

The 6-foot-7 Prins was 9 of 16 from the floor and even stepped out for a 3-pointer.

“We didn't have an answer for her,” Lehigh coach Sue Troyan said.

Prins played shaky last week during ISU's Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal loss to Oklahoma State. She looked fine Sunday.

“I had a lot of fun tonight,” Prins said. “I thought we did a good job of moving the ball around, which opened us up, and attacking the basket.”

Lehigh (29-4) missed its first nine shots from the field and was 5 of 25 (20 percent) overall in the first half.

The Mountain Hawks crept within seven points at one point, but found themselves down 35-20 at the half. ISU stayed hot early in the second half, extended its lead and the Patriot League's NCAA losing streak to 18 straight games.

Emily Gratch led Lehigh was Lehigh's only double-figure scorer with 12 points.

“We kinda got down on ourselves early when the shots weren't falling,” Gratch said. “We tried to fight through it as much as we could.”

The Cyclones improved to 9-2 all-time in NCAA games at Hilton Coliseum.

They'll try to reach their second straight and fifth Sweet 16 in all during Fennelly's 14 seasons.