AMES, Iowa – Iowa State had it going inside and outside and there wasn’t much Northern Iowa could do about it. Chelsea Poppens scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Cyclones led the Panthers by 16 at halftime and pulled away in the second half for a 84-57 victory. Iowa State improves to 7-2 while Northern Iowa falls to 7-4.
Iowa State dominated on the boards, winning the rebound battle 48-20. Nikki Moody tallied 15 points, as the Cyclones outscored Northern Iowa 44-12 in the paint.
It became apparent early that Iowa State would have its way in the first half. The Cyclones pushed away from the Panthers with Poppens scoring in the lane four times in a four-minute span as Iowa State turned an 11-10 lead into a 25-13 advantage. Iowa State scored 15 second-chance points in the first half to Northern Iowa’s two points. The Cyclones controlled the boards, outrebounding their intrastate foe, 25-10 in the first half.
Both teams shot the three well in the first half, with Iowa State hitting on 6-of-11 shots (.545 ) and UNI 5-10(.500). The difference was inside and the Cyclones led 46-30 at the break.
Iowa State will have a bit of Christmas break before playing host to New Hampshire on the first night of the Cyclone Challenge at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 29 in Hilton Coliseum.
