AMES – Florida State (21-11, 7-9 ACC) ended Iowa State’s (20-11, 9-9 Big 12) season Saturday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum with a 55-44 win over the Cyclones in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Cyclones could never find their shooting touch, making a season-low 25.4 percent from the field compared to the Seminoles’ 45.7 percentage from the floor. Despite its poor shooting, ISU stayed in the game by forcing a season-best 25 turnovers.
Hallie Christofferson ended her illustrious career as a Cyclone with 13 points.
The senior, who will go down as one of the all-time greats in school history, registered her 1,700th career point this afternoon. Brynn Williamson (12) and Jadda Buckley (10) joined Christofferson in double figures, respectively.
Natasha Howard led the Seminoles with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Iowa State got in a hole early, spotting Florida State a 16-6 lead with a cold start from the floor. The Seminoles made their first three 3-pointers, while the Cyclones opened the game by making just 1-of-12 shots.
ISU continued to struggle throughout the remainder of the first period, heading into the locker room down 30-18. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Williamson closed the gap to 22-16 with 3:18 left in the first half. However, three layups from Cheetah Delgado spearheaded an 8-2 FSU run to close the half.
ISU’s 18 points was a season low in a half this season, as the Cyclones made just 5-of-28 shots from the field in the opening period.
ISU was able to stay in the game by forcing 14 first half turnovers, however.
FSU increased its lead to 15 points early in the second half, but the Cyclones were able to chip away at the lead as the Seminoles went cold. Williamson drained a couple of threes in a 10-3 Cyclone run to cut the gap to 40-33 with nine minutes remaining the game. FSU went over eight minutes of play with just one field goal.
ISU never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
