Morgan Kane scores career-high 17 points as Iowa State women’s basketball cruises past TCU

AMES — Iowa State’s Morgan Kane seemed stuck on the number 13.

The redshirt junior forward had twice amassed that then-career high point total this season, but Saturday against TCU she finally put some distance between her old and new personal bests.

Kane scored 17 points on 6-of-7 field goal shooting as the No. 12 Cyclones cruised past the Horned Frogs, 78-47, before 9,017 fans at Hilton Coliseum.

“She was really good,” said ISU head coach Bill Fennelly, whose team is 3-0 in Big 12 play for the first time since the 2013-14 season. “And the interesting thing is we’ve been saying that a lot lately and that’s a good thing. She’s efficient. She’s in the right place. She makes layups. Everyone double-teams (Ashley Joens). She finds holes.”

The Cyclones (14-1) built a double-digit lead in the first quarter and clamped down defensively for 40 minutes, limiting the Horned Frogs (4-6, 0-1) to 27.4 percent shooting.

Joens, as usual, led ISU with 21 points and 11 rebounds to record her fourth straight double-double, and eighth in the past 11 games.

She also drilled all eight of her free throw attempts, helping the Cyclones finish 21-for-24 from the line.

“We’re playing really well right now and it’s great just to see everyone’s confidence continue to get higher,” said Joens, who scored a game-high 21 points while grabbing 11 rebounds to notch her fourth straight double-double.

That’s especially true for Kane, who spoke with Fennelly late last season about how her role down low could expand after Kristen Scott’s graduation.

Kane then went to work, honing her game while solidifying her teammates’ trust.

“I knew there was progress to be made and I knew what I needed to do,” said Kane, who has scored in double figures in four of the past five games.

She’s been producing on a regular basis ever since. Half of Joens’ team-high four assists went to Kane.

“She’s buying in,” Joens said. “She’s in the gym getting extra shots and working on post moves. Just to see all that hard work pay off in a game, it’s great to see. She impacts success every day.”

Case in point: The start of Saturday’s second half.

Kane scored six of her 17 points early in the third quarter and remained efficient throughout the day.

“Seventeen points in 22 minutes,” Fennelly said of Kane’s performance. “That’s a great day. You can tell her teammates trust her when the first four plays (of the second half), (ISU point guard) Emily Ryan called for her. That doesn’t happen very often around here, so really happy for Morgan.”

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