AMES – Iowa State outlasted Houston 64-53 in a low-scoring affair at home Wednesday, the lowest point total in Big 12 play for Iowa State.

The win extends the Cyclones’ win streak to four and improves their record to 19-9. The Cougars, who are last in the Big 12, drop to 5-21. 

Iowa State sophomore guard Arianna Jackson was ruled out before the game with a lingering foot injury, so freshman guard Reagan Wilson replaced her in the starting lineup. As for Houston, it only had six available players.

Iowa State started the game a little slow, allowing Houston to stay in the game a bit longer than expected. Luckily for the Cyclones, sophomore guard Kelsey Joens had 11 first-half points, leading the team. 

With plenty of double-teams attacking sophomore center Audi Crooks down low, it allowed Iowa State to have some shots from deep. In the first half alone, the Cyclones knocked down eight 3s on 14 attempts.

The second half featured a little less scoring from the Cyclones, who scored only 22 points in the half. Although the Cyclones were not shooting the ball particularly well, the Cougars were struggling to take care of the ball themselves. 

Despite winning the turnover battle 16-11, Houston got called for seven traveling violations, leaving it with many deflating and empty possessions. Iowa State closed it with a 64-53 win over the Cougars.

First half shooting

Right from the opening tip-off, Houston swarmed Crooks as soon as she got the ball, leading to kick-out opportunities to open players on the wings. 

Iowa State shot 4-of-5 from deep in the first quarter and hit four more in the second quarter, helping build a 15-point lead at the break. After shooting over 50% from the field in the first half, the Cyclones shot just under 30% in the second.

“We went cold for a little bit,” Joens said. “Having those early shots really helped us out, and then just, keep on shooting the ball knowing that it’s going to go in.”

The big first half helped build a lead that Houston could not come back from, and with multiple players knocking down big shots, it forced the Cougar defense to shift and change up what they were doing.

“It helps us out, helps us just spread the floor,” sophomore forward Addy Brown said. “The defense has to, you know, stay on everybody because everyone is a threat. That just opens the court up even more for us.”

Five different players hit shots from deep against Houston, including three from Joens and three from junior guard/forward Sydney Harris. Despite the slow second half, Iowa State hit a total of 10 threes Wednesday night.

Shorthanded Houston challenges Iowa State

Despite having only six players available to suit up and play, Houston battled for all 40 minutes. In fact, the Cougars played the Cyclones closer than any of their last three opponents. 

“They only have six kids. I thought they played hard and to do the things that they’re trying to do, it says a lot about their program,” Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said. “Says a lot about [Ron Hughey], as we all know situations where people didn’t want to show up to play.”

The Cougars’ center, Peyton McFarland, limited how many shots Crooks got up and helped limit her to only 12 points. Additionally, the Houston game plan seemed to be centered around stopping Crooks on the inside.

“We did a fairly decent job on Crooks on the inside,” Hughey said. “I wanted to make sure she didn’t go for 50 and then we didn’t want to have what, Kansas, you know, gave up 18 threes.”

Although Crooks ended with 12 points and Iowa State hit 10 threes, it did enough to topple the Cougars. 

Addy Brown continues to facilitate

Having to follow a game that was a rebound shy of a monumental triple-double, it is hard to come back and continue to perform at that same level. For Brown, it seems it is becoming an every-game type of thing. 

Brown finished Wednesday night with 12 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, leading in both rebounds and assists. Even when the shots were not falling as much as she expected or hoped, as she went 5-of-14, Brown impacted the game in many different facets.

“[Fennelly’s] got a four player in Brown that can operate out of the high post, and he can post her up,” Hughey said. “She could play point guard, and that’s the one thing, she can play all over the floor. She could post up as well and put Crooks on the outside.”

At the end of the first half, Brown brought the ball up with both Crooks and fifth-year guard Emily Ryan on the bench, and she was signaling to her teammates to help with positioning and getting the play set up. After receiving a screen, Brown fired a pass to junior guard Lily Hansford for a triple, increasing the halftime lead to 15.

“With [Jackson] out it changed our rotation,” Fennelly said. “Emily [Ryan] tweaked her angle again, changed our rotation. You know, we’re playing Addy [Brown] at point guard, and we practice it zero amount of times because of our limitations in practice.”

Despite not practicing it, Brown looks comfortable no matter where Fennelly puts her, and it could prove to be valuable with lingering injuries hanging around the end of the season.

The Cyclones begin a two-game road trip against No. 19 Baylor at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, in Waco, Texas, another opportunity for the Cyclones to earn their first-ranked win of the season.