Iowa State women improve to 2-0 in Big 12 play with second-half surge

AMES – The Iowa State women’s basketball team is quickly finding out that a league championship won’t come easy.

No. 11 Iowa State, the preseason pick to win the Big 12, rallied from a slow start with a huge third quarter and a monster second half to beat West Virginia 70-50 before an announced crowd of 9,044 fans at Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday night.

Iowa State improved to 10-2 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 play.

Ashley Joens scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Cyclones, while Stephanie Soares added 20 rebounds and 13 points.

The Cyclones needed every point they could get early on as they battled through a sluggish first half and found themselves in a surprising battle with West Virginia (9-4 overall, 0-2 in Big 12).

"Our league is very old and very skilled at the top," said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly. "And you better get ready. A game like tonight, everyone's going to be 'It was ugly, it was this, it was that,' OK, that's fine. But you've got to find a way to win those games."

The first half wasn't easy for the Cyclones, who turned it over 10 times and continued to struggle from 3-point range, going just 2-for-9 from beyond the arc before halftime. It led to 12 lead changes and Iowa State heading into the third quarter tied with West Virginia 37-37.

Fennelly partially blamed himself for using a zone defense to try to combat West Virginia's dribble penetration.

"I think it might have got us on our heels a little bit," Fennelly said.

It was a similar situation Iowa State found itself in during its Big 12 opener at Texas Tech on Saturday. The Cyclones had to fight for most of the first three quarters before finally pulling away in Lubbock. Like that game, Iowa State figured it out and eventually got going Wednesday.

Iowa State used a 14-0 run over 4 minutes and 15 seconds to take control of the game in the third period. West Virginia missed its last 10 field-goal attempts of the quarter, scored just four points and was outscored 20-4. By then, Iowa State had a commanding 57-41 lead heading into the final quarter.

"We just kind of had to lock down on defense," Joens said. "I think our defense then helped us on offense kind of knock down those shots and go on a run."

Iowa State limited West Virginia to just four more field goals in the fourth quarter.

"It was a hard-fought game," Fennelly said. "In this league, anything to the left in the win column is a good thing."

Lexi Donarski kept things going for Iowa State

The junior guard was the brightest star for the Cyclones on a night that included some early struggles. Her biggest impact came in the second quarter when Iowa State's shots were off the mark.

Donarski finished the quarter with 11 of Iowa State’s 20 points and rattled off seven straight points for the Cyclones. She also made some history in the quarter when she tallied a layup to become the 33rd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.

What a night for Stephanie Soares

The Iowa State newcomer provided lots of second-chance, third-chance and sometimes fourth-chance opportunities for Iowa State. Six of Soares' 20 rebounds came on the offensive end.

The 20-rebound performance was just the sixth in school history. Soares, a graduate transfer from The Master's, already has eight double-doubles in her short Iowa State career.

"Steph does an amazing job on the boards, especially on the offensive end but also on the defensive end," Joens said.

Iowa State battles through physical matchup that included some tense moments

A big question this season is whether the Cyclones can handle a more physical brand of basketball. Iowa State's guard-heavy roster sometimes struggled against bruising opponents last season.

The Cyclones showed they could grind it out during Wednesday's game, which featured some overly physical play at times.

"The whole chippy thing just drives me nuts, " Fennelly said. "Let's play. OK?

"I just, whatever. I don't want to say anything and get myself in trouble. Our kids play the game the right way. I'm not saying other teams don't, but I'm very proud of the way, how we act and we respect the game and that's the way we're going to play.

"And if we're missing 3s, yes, I tell them to shoot them. And if we're not doing some other things, that's what I'm telling them not to do. Fight through it, play through it. I tell them all the time, control what you can and that's your effort, your enthusiasm and how we want to play."

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State women use second-half surge to beat West Virginia