AMES, Iowa – There would be no Kansas comeback this time. Chelsea Poppens scored 22 points, Hallie Christofferson tallied 20 and Anna Prins added 19 as No. 23 Iowa State (20-6 overall, 11-5 Big 12) defeated KU (16-11 overall, 7-9 Big 12) 83-68 Wednesday in Hilton Coliseum.
The Jayhawks had erased an 18-point deficit to pull out a win in the first meeting between the teams earlier this season in Lawrence, Kan., but the Jayhawks, who got 21 points from Angel Goodrich and 20 from Monica Engelman could not get closer in the final 20 minutes than the six-point deficit they faced at halftime.
Iowa State remains second the Big 12 standings. Texas Tech beat Oklahoma State 61-53 in Lubbock, Texas Wednesday to match Iowa State’s 11-5 league record. The Cyclones, however, have beaten the Lady Raiders twice this season to hold the tie breaker.
Both teams came out shooting. Kansas shot 82 percent over the first nine minutes and led 22-20 on a Monica Engelman bucket with 11:35 left in the first half. Iowa State made its first six three-point attempts, and the second Brynn Williamson trey put the Cyclones ahead 40-33 with 3:09 before halftime. Prins hit a turnaround shot in the lane as time expired and the Iowa Staters led 44-39 at the break.
Jayhawk forward Carolyn Davis, who came into the game averaging a team-high 15.8 points per game, scored her only two points on a basket with 7:16 remaining.
After hitting on 7-of-10 threes in the first half, Iowa State was 1-of-8 from beyond the arc in the second half. But the Cyclones simply wore the Jayhawks out in the paint, outscoring KU, 36-16 down low. Iowa State also out-rebounded Kansas, 43-29 as Cyclone post players Poppens, Christofferson and Prins combined for 61 points and 25 rebounds.
Iowa State plays at TCU Saturday at 4 p.m. CST in Fort Worth, Texas.
