OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 19 Iowa State advanced to the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship with a 75-58 win over Kansas Saturday evening at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Cyclones, making their first semifinal since 2013, will play the winner of the TCU-Texas contest which was in-progress at the time of publication.
The Cyclone effort was led by 18 points from Bridget Carleton, allowing her to tie ISU’s single-season scoring record of 676 points with Angie Welle in 2002. Joining her in double figures was Kristin Scott and Madison Wise with 15 points each. Wise got her first double-double of the season and third of her career with a team-high 10 rebounds.
How It Happened
The first two minutes passed with no points, Scott bucket got ISU on the board first. An 8-0 Kansas run got the Jayhawks ahead at 10-7, and the No. 10 seed was able to hang on and take a 12-11 lead out of the first quarter.
The Cyclones picked it up, with Scott hitting a 3-pointer to put ISU ahead 17-14 two minutes into the period. It was part of a 10-0 run for ISU, allowing the Cyclones to push ahead 21-14. Kansas was able to hang tough, bringing ISU back within three at 23-20, but the Cyclones had a surge to finish the half and bring the halftime lead up to double figures at 30-20 on a Madison Wise lay-in in the final seconds.
ISU kept the momentum going early in the third, racking up the first six points of the quarter to up the lead to 36-20. Iowa State’s shooting was on point, as the Cyclones made 11 of first 16 shots in the period to build up a 27-point lead at one point.
A slow start to the fourth allowed the Jayhawks 14-0 run and cut the Iowa State lead to a dozen at 61-49. Carleton stepped up with back-to-back 3-pointers to stem the bleeding and slow the Kansas momentum. From there, ISU was able to bring home the win and remain in Oklahoma City another day.
Players of Note
Kristin Scott was in double figures for the 12th time in the last 14 games, notching 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. She also contributed six rebounds.
Madison Wise helped drive the ISU effort during a shaky first half, as she recorded a team-high 10 points in the first half. Wise finished the contest with 15 points, her 12th game in double figures this season, on 6-of-8 shooting. She also got her first double-double of the year with 10 rebounds.
Bridget Carleton had a quieter game by her 2018-19 scoring standards, but was able find other ways to contribute to the effort. The Big 12 Player of the Year finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Up Next
Iowa State advances to the semifinals of the 2019 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship, where the Cyclones will take on the winner of the Texas-TCU game which was in-progress at the time of publication. The game will be at 4:30 p.m. and televised on FS1.
