Cyclones Advance With Win Over Washington

Saturday, March 17

Minneapolis, Minn.

11:00 AM

Iowa State

26-8

Washington

18-13

Washington

Iowa State

Cyclones Advance With Win Over Washington

03.17.2007 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Iowa State University

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. ? Sixth-seeded Iowa State used first half runs of 11-0 and 17-4 to defeat 11^th-seeded Washington, 79-60, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Williams Arena Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis, Minn. The Cyclones will face 14th-ranked Georgia game Monday night with the game time to be determined.

“Our kids played a great game today,” said Fennelly. “The fan support we had was outstanding. I felt like defensively we were solid and offensively we were great after the first five minutes. We did a good job getting it inside.”

The Cyclones (26-8) got 18 points and seven rebounds from Nicky Wieben and 12 points each from Lyndsey Medders, Alison Lacey and Toccara Ross to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in school history, all of which have come under the direction of Bill Fennelly. Medders finished with 10 assists as well to record her third double-double this season and the 12^th of her career.

The Cyclones scorched the nets, shooting 51.8 percent from the field in the game and making nine 3-pointers. Washington shot just 31.9 percent.

Iowa State fell behind early in the contest as Washington dominated the glass in the opening minutes to take a 15-6 lead out of the gate. A Medders' 3-pointer, the first of five in the half, started an 11-0 run that pushed ISU in front 17-15, following a 17-foot jumper from Ross.

The Cyclones then turned up the heat defensively, holding Washington without a field goal for over eight minutes, and went on a 17-4 run to close out the half and head into the break with a 39-26 lead.

Ross paced the Cyclones with 10 first half points while Lacey and Wieben added seven each in the opening period. ISU shot 57 percent from the field in the first half, while holding the Huskies to just 27 percent shooting.

The Cyclones increased their lead in the first eight minutes of the second half behind 11 points from Wieben. Iowa State increased its lead to 20 at 62-42 on a layup by Rachel Pierson. Washington scrapped back to cut the lead to 12 with two and a half minutes remaining, but the Cyclones made their free throws down the stretch to coast to the 79-60 win.

Cameo Hicks led Washington (18-13) with 19 points in the game.

The Iowa State Athletics Department and the ISU Alumni Association will be offering a fan bus to the game. Stay tuned to Cyclones.com for more information

IOWA STATE GAME NOTES

- Senior Lyndsey Medders had 12 points and 10 assists against Washington, giving her the third double-double of the season and the11th point-assist double-double of her career.

- The Cyclones now hold a 20-2 record when ahead at halftime and a 19-1 record when outrebounding its opponent.

- Iowa State improved to 26-8 on the season, recording only its third season in school history with 26 or more wins. Iowa State also improved to 6-1 on neutral courts this season.

- The Cyclones will face either third-seed Georgia (25-6) or 14th seed Belmont (25-6) on Monday at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. Game time will be determined later Saturday night.

- Iowa State has won 10 out of its last 12 contests, and is making its second NCAA appearance in the last three years. This marks the sixth time ISU has advanced to the second round and now holds a 10-7 record in the tournament. It is the first time ISU has advanced to the second round since 2002.

- With her 18 points, sophomore Nicky Wieben has scored in double figures in 22 games this season and has led ISU in scoring in 13 games, while senior Lyndsey Medders has been in double digits in 21 contests with her 12 points today.

- Iowa State improved to 24-3 when scoring 60 points or better and 18-0 when scoring 70 points or better.

- Iowa State has made at least one three-pointer in 367 consecutive games dating back to 1995.

- Medders has now passed out an assist in every game she has played at Iowa State. That is a span of 121 consecutive games through four years.

- With one blocked shot today, Wieben has now posted 62 blocked shots this year, rewriting her own ISU single-season record, which she set last year with 59.

- Lyndsey Medders improves ISU's all-time career assist record ...she now has 710 dimes and is fourth all-time in Big 12 history. She needs 13 assists to move into third place on the Big 12 list.