AMES – It is Championship Sunday for Iowa State as the Cyclones will look to win the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship against No. 1 seed and No. 15 Texas at 1 p.m. The Cyclones earned their shot at the title with an 82-72 victory over No. 14 Oklahoma on Saturday.
Who: Iowa State (21-9, 11-7 Big 12) vs. No. 15 Texas (25-8, 14-4 Big 12)
Where: Municipal Auditorium – Kansas City, Mo.
When: Sunday, March 12, 2023 – 1 p.m.
WATCH: ESPN2/ESPN+
PxP: Brenda VanLengen Analyst: Holly Warlick
LISTEN: Cyclone Radio Network – Varsity App or Radio Affiliates
PxP: Noah Wolf Analyst: Jamie Steyer Johnson
Key Storylines
- Iowa State is appearing in the Big 12 Championship title game for the seventh time in league history and will be looking to hoist the trophy for the third time, and the first time since 2001.
- Ashley Joens led the Cyclones’ effort with 22 points and eight rebounds. During the contest against the Sooners, Joens surpassed 3,000 career points, becoming the 14th player in NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball history to reach the 3K mark.
- Joens, the 2022-23 Big 12 Player of the Year, leads the Big 12 and ranks 10th nationally with her 21.3 points per game. She has scored in double figures in all but one game this season, going over 20 17 times and over 30 on four occasions.
- Lexi Donarski came up big in the big game, finishing 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range.
- Nyamer Diew came off the bench to provide 19 points, including four 3-pointers. It was Diew’s first game in double figures for six games and came after she did not score in the Cyclones’ win over Baylor on Friday.
- Emily Ryan recorded nine points, five rebounds and five assists while playing all 40 minutes for the second-straight night.
- Ryan played her 19th ‘complete game’ of her ISU career on Saturday and became the second Cyclone since Megan Ronhovde at the 2006 Big 12 Tournament to play all 40 minutes in consecutive games on consecutive days.
- Against Baylor on Friday, Ryan became the 34th player in ISU history to reach 1,000 career points.
- The Cyclones have hit at least 10 3-pointers in a game in four-straight games and are now at 269 on the season, tied for the ninth-most in a season in ISU history.