(cyclones.com)
AMES – A couple of second-half surges saw Iowa State run away to a 68-53 victory over West Virginia Saturday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones completed their first season sweep of the Mountaineers since WVU joined the Big 12 to improve to 15-11 on the year, 6-9 in Big 12 play. WVU is now 18-9 overall, 6-9 in league play.
Jadda Buckley, a former Mason City Mohawk basketball player, led the Iowa State effort with 20 points, eight assists and two rebounds. With nearly 40 friends and family in attendance from Canada, Bridget Carleton posted 16 points, six rebounds and tied a career high with four blocks. Seanna Johnson also had 16 points.
How It Happened
Neither team could find the basket early, as only two of the first 15 field goals by either team found the bucket. The home Cyclones were first to settle into the contest, with Seanna Johnson’s aggressive drives to the hoop proving effective to build up a 12-5 advantage. The Cyclones finished the quarter up 10 as Emily Durr banked in an 18-footer with three seconds remaining to get ahead 17-7.
Iowa State didn’t score for the first 2:54 for the second quarter, but WVU could not take advantage, only scoring two points in that stretch. The Mountaineers chipped away at the Cyclone advantage, making four-straight shots to bring the ISU advantage down to 21-19. WVU got its first lead since 3-0 when Alexis Brewer drained a long 3-pointer to make it 26-25 Mountaineers, but the Cyclones finished the half with a pair of buckets to take 29-26 halftime lead.
ISU was firing on all cylinders to begin the second half, racking up a 13-0 run to build up its lead to its highest point at 42-28. The run saw Iowa State hit a trio of 3-pointers via Bridget Carleton, Jadda Buckley and Heather Bowe. Johnson continued to get on the board for ISU as well. The Cyclone defense helped restrict West Virginia to 3-of-15 shooting on the quarter, including 0-of-4 from 3-point range as ISU had a 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Carleton broke ISU out of a slow start to the fourth quarter, showing off a huge block to deny WVU’s Chania Ray, and then a 3-pointer at the other end to open the ISU advantage to 15 points. Buckley made it 18 points two possessions later to make it 57-39 Cyclones with 5:42 to play. The Cyclones managed the lead from there, with WVU only being able to get back within 14.
Players of Note
Jadda Buckley had another big second half to lead the Iowa State effort on Saturday. The redshirt junior finished with 20 point, her eighth-career 202-point game, with 14 of those points coming in the second half. She also had eight assists.
Bridget Carleton enjoyed having her family and friends from north of the border in attendance, and gave them a performance they can talk about on the drive back home. Carleton finished with 16 points, six rebounds and tied a career-high with four blocked shots.
Seanna Johnson was her consistent self, finishing with 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while also grabbing seven rebounds.
Cyclone Quick Hits
*Iowa State has hit a 3-pointer in an NCAA-record 699-consecutive games.
*ISU completed its first regular season sweep of West Virginia since the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 in 2012-13.
*Jadda Buckley finished with 20 points, her 20th game of the season in double figures and 62nd career game over 10 points.
*Seanna Johnson posted 16 points, her 21st game of the campaign in double figures and 84th of her career.
*Bridget Carleton had 6 points, her 21st game of the season in double figures and 40th of her career in double figures.
*Carleton tied a career high with four blocked shots.
*Meredith Burkhall brought down 10 rebounds, her fifth game of the season over 10 boards and sixth of her career.
Up Next
Iowa State heads to Kansas for a Tuesday match-up. Tip in Lawrence between the Cyclones and Jayhawks will be at 7 p.m. with the game being shown on ESPN3 and on the WatchESPN app.
