AMES, Iowa – No. 25 Iowa State (12-2 overall, 3-1 Big 12) owned a 44-25 edge on the glass to and used Chelsea Poppens’ double-double to defeat TCU (7-8, 0-4) 68-52 Saturday night at Hilton Coliseum.
Poppens finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds and three steals in 30 minutes. Iowa State’s largest lead over TCU was 25 points, which came with 5:25 remaining in the contest.
Saturday marked Poppens’ fourth career game with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds. Her fifth rebound gave her 900 for her career, becoming the fourth Cyclone in history to reach the milestone. Her hustle during a key first-half stretch lifted the Cyclones out of a deficit and set Iowa State on its way to victory. Hallie Christofferson scored 14 points, including four treys for Iowa State. Zahna Medley was the only Horned Frog in double figures with 11 points.
It was a sluggish stop-and-start first-half early for both teams. The Cyclones went on a 13-2 run late in the initial stanza that turned a 20-16 deficit into a 29-22 advantage. Poppens keyed the effort, scoring four times under the basket. Poppens had 13 first-half points along with 10 rebounds, one less than the entire TCU team had on the glass before halftime. Iowa State’s dominance on the boards was reflected in its 16-2 advantage in second-half points.
Point guard Nikki Moody added nine assists in the Cyclone effort. This was Moody’s fourth game this season with nine or more assists.
Anna Prins tallied a season high 10 rebounds tonight, falling just two points shy of her own double-double.
The Cyclones are back in action on Tuesday night, when the team takes plays host to No. 16 Oklahoma at 7 p.m. CST.
