Iowa State women’s basketball gets production up and down lineup to beat No. 18 West Virginia

AMES - Iowa State women's basketball coach Bill Fennelly tells his seniors to leave a piece of themselves behind to make the team better.

He tells the rest of the players to give a piece of themselves to the seniors.

The Cyclones took that message to heart in their most balanced performance of the season against West Virginia.

Five Cyclones scored in double figures and three had at least 18, including forward Kristin Scott, who had 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting on Senior Night, as Iowa State beat No. 18 West Virginia on Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum, 85-68.

Ashley Joens was her usual self, leading the team in scoring and rebounding. She finished with 20 points and six rebounds.

'For this team, five in double figures is huge,” Fennelly said. 'Ashley is such a hard cover that when we can space the floor, teams have to make decisions. I thought we made some great extra passes where we went from good shot to great shot.

'We checked every offensive box we could and that's how we got 85 against a really good defensive team.”

Freshman Lexi Donarski continued her recent hot streak, scoring 18 points. Over the last four games, Donarski is averaging 20.5 points.

Fellow freshmen Kylie Feuerbach and Emily Ryan rounded things out for the Cyclones (15-9, 11-6 Big 12) in double figures. Ryan had 13 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter. She also had nine assists and five rebounds. Feuerbach scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

'It helps when you have players that can play inside and out and we have that with Ashley and Kristin,” Fennelly said. 'That opens up the court, and all of a sudden, we have driving lanes. Lexi, Kylie and Emily took advantage of the driving lanes when the defense had to go get Kristin and Ashley. That's the way this team needs to play.”

The Cyclones outscored West Virginia (17-4, 11-4) 40-26 over the second and third quarters.

Getting a win against a ranked team late in the season not only helps the team's NCAA Tournament resume, but it boosts confidence.

'We beat a really good West Virginia team that's been playing really well,” Fennelly said. 'This game won't help us beat Kansas (next Wednesday), but it will give us the sense that when we play the way we're supposed to, then we have a chance to be good.”

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