Ezell Hits 1,000; Cyclones Rally for Win Over Drake

Thursday, December 11

Ames, Iowa

7:00 PM

Iowa State

6-2

Drake

5-3

Drake

Iowa State

Ezell Hits 1,000; Cyclones Rally for Win Over Drake

12.11.2008 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa ? The Iowa State women's basketball team shot 62.2 percent and held Drake to just one field goal in the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Cyclones erased a first-half deficit and defeated the Bulldogs, 65-52, Thursday night in Hilton Coliseum. Senior Heather Ezell hit two three-pointers to open the game and reach the 1,000-point career scoring mark.

Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly shook up his starting line-up after the loss at Iowa. After starting the game on the bench for the first time this season, Nicky Wieben and Amanda Nisleit responded by going 14-of-17 from the field and scoring 37 points combined. Nisleit was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, including two three-pointers, for a career-high 18 points. Wieben came close to the double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds.

Complete Post-Event Coverage
Final Stats Notes Newsconference Photo Album		Quotes First Half Replay Second Half Replay

Ezell became the 19th player in Iowa State school history to join the 1,000-point club. With her nine points against Drake, she now has 1,005 career points to her name. She also grabbed seven rebounds for the Cyclones and recorded three steals in the win. Ezell hit three three-pointers to move into fourth place on ISU's all-time three-pointer list as well.

Iowa State shot 45.1 percent for the game, including going 13-for-21 in the second half. The Cyclones hit six treys and were 13-for-16 from the charity stripe. Drake shot 39.2 percent from the floor and only four players found the scoring column for the Bulldogs, including three players with 46 of the team's 52 points. ISU outrebounded DU, 37-22, and outscored the Bulldogs 18-6 on second-chance points.

“First of all, I want to say how much I appreciate the maturity of Nicky, Kelsey (Bolte) and Amanda not starting the game,” Fennelly said. “I'm proud of the way they handled it. Secondly, congratulations to Heather. She is asked to do a lot of things and she keeps playing well. Now she gets to put her name in the media guide alongside a lot of great players. The last 25 minutes was the best basketball we could play. When we were down 10 and weren't playing well, we rallied and it was good to see the kids play the way Iowa State is supposed to play.”

The Cyclones trailed the Bulldogs, 29-25, at intermission after shooting just 33.3 percent from the field and committing 10 turnovers. Drake's biggest lead of the half was a 10-point advantage (29-19) after Lauren Dybing scored three consecutive field goals.

Ezell hit a pair of threes to start the game to give Iowa State a 6-5 lead, but Drake answered with a 7-0 run to go up 12-6. The Cyclones ran off seven straight points, including five by Nisleit to take another one-point advantage (13-12). For every Cyclone run, however, Drake found answers.

Nisleit hit a field goal to cut Drake's lead back to one (20-19) before the Bulldogs went to Dybing for their 9-0 run and 29-19 lead. The Cyclones went inside, getting a field goal from Toccara Ross and four straight points from Wieben to close the halftime lead to four (29-25).

Iowa State opened the second half on an 11-0 run, getting points from four different players to take a 36-29 advantage, while holding Drake scoreless for the first six minutes. The Cyclone offense finally found its firepower, while the defense confused the Bulldogs. After Drake scored its first field goal of the half, the Cyclones went on another 8-0 run, including six points from Wieben to expand the lead 44-31. The Bulldogs hit just two of their first 15 field goal attempts in the second period.

Drake scored their second field goal of the half to cut the lead to 11, with 9:38 to play, but that was as close as they got the rest of the way. Ezell hit her third three-pointer of the night with 3:57 to play to make the margin 18 (60-42).

Iowa State will play host to the University of Detroit Mercy Sunday at 2 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum before a week off for finals week.