AMES – Oklahoma (14-15, 4-12 Big 12) made 7-of-13 shots from 3-point range after intermission to help the Sooners defeat No. 23 Iowa State (17-11, 8-8 Big 12), 61-50 Saturday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum.
The Sooners woke up in the second half after being down by five at intermission. Jacob Groves led OU with 16 points, including 11 points in the second half on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, the Cyclones shot just 31.0 percent from the field, their second-lowest clip of the season, and 26.9 percent in the second half compared to OU’s 56.5 percent clip.
Gabe Kalscheur led the Cyclones with 12 points and Robert Jones came off the bench to score seven points and grab a game-high seven boards.
How It Happened
Both teams struggled to find the mark in the first half, shooting under 35 percent. Iowa State raced out to a 14-3 lead after allowing just one basket in the first eight minutes of the game. However, an 8-2 run by OU cut the Cyclone lead to 16-11 with nine minutes remaining in the first half and kept it close until intermission.
The Cyclones led at the break, 28-23 despite making 11-of-32 shots from the floor.
OU quickly opened up a 36-32 lead to begin the second half. OU got treys from Groves and Tanner Groves in the early run, as OU took its first lead of the game.
The Sooner lead ballooned to 42-32 with 13:35 left in the game, as OU made 6-of-9 shots, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, to open the second period while Iowa State was just 2-of-10.
ISU continued to misfire and never mounted a serious threat the rest of the way.
Top Performance
Freshman Tamin Lipsey equaled a career high with four steals today. His 57 steals this year is the third-most by a Cyclone rookie and 20th overall.
What’s Next
Iowa State plays host to West Virginia on Monday (Feb. 27) in the final home game of the season. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Iowa State will honor its eight seniors in a ceremony 15 minutes prior to tipoff. Tickets are available here.
Although they might have have played badly, calling them women is kind of adding salt to the wound.