AMES – No. 6 Iowa State (22-4, 11-3 Big 12) took care of business in a battle of ranked teams Saturday in Hilton Coliseum, dispatching No. 15 Oklahoma (20-6, 9-5 Big 12), 89-67.
A 10-2 Cyclone run in the first period broke open the game, as the Cyclones cruised the rest of the way and tied the school mark with the 2000-01 squad for the best start through 26 games.
ISU’s romp came in the usual way with a lot of 3-pointers (16), efficient shooting (47.0 percent) and pinpoint accuracy at the free-throw line (11-of-11).
Ashley Joens became ISU’s all-time leading scorer in the last game vs. Texas and she kept adding to her school-record total with a game-high 28 points, the 53rd 20-point game of her career. She also grabbed a game-high nine boards.
Emily Ryan tallied 15 points and a game-high nine assists, and Aubrey Joens came off the bench to score 12 points behind 4-of-8 shooting from downtown.
Lexi Donarski added 14 points and was phenomenal in stopping OU’s Taylor Robertson, who entered the game averaging 17.6 points, but was held to just five points and four shot attempts.
Eight-straight points by Donarski gave the Cyclones an 18-11 lead with 3:18 left in the first period. Two of Donarski’s buckets were from the beyond the arc. Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw drained a corner trey moments later, as ISU’s lead increased to nine points (23-14).
ISU had six treys in the first period to lead 28-16 through 10 minutes.
Ryan made a 3-pointer and a circus-like, one-handed reverse midway through the second period to pad the Cyclone lead to 16 points (36-20).
OU crept back into the game with an 11-4 run, but Joens hit a trey in the final :30 seconds of the first period to give ISU a 43-33 halftime lead.
Joens heated up in the third period, scoring a trio of baskets inside to push the Cyclone lead to 18 points (59-41) at the midway point of the third stanza. By the end of the third period, ISU had a comfortable 71-45 lead.
ISU is back in action Wednesday, traveling to Kansas. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. CT.
