The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Iowa State
No. 22 Women's Basketball falls to Iowa State in Ames, 67-56
01.18.2007 | Women's Basketball
AMES, Iowa -- Behind a game-high 23 points from senior guard Lyndsey Medders and a 21-for-27 free throw shooting performance, Iowa State upset the No. 22 Texas Longhorns, 67-56, in Big 12 women's basketball action Thursday night at Hilton Coliseum.
Medders, four-for-six from long range, was joined in double-figures by junior forward Toccara Ross (15 points) and freshman forward Alison Lacey (12).
The loss snapped the Longhorns' three-game winning streak. Texas is now 13-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12.
Iowa State ended its three-game losing streak with the win, and is now 14-4 overall and 2-3 in Big 12 action.
Texas was led by redshirt freshman point guard Carla Cortijo (12 points), junior guard Erneisha Bailey (11 points) and redshirt freshman forward Earnesia Williams (10 points). Freshman guard Gabriell Mattox added a career-high eight points, while senior forward Tiffany Jackson (seven points) had a game-high 11 rebounds. Bailey finished with seven boards.
The Cyclones used eight three-pointers in the win, going eight-for-21 from long range, while the Longhorns were five-for-17 in three's. Texas shot just 33 percent in the contest (24-72), while ISU hit 38 percent of its shots (19-50), but dominated in long-range shooting and on the foul line. Texas made just nine trips to the foul line, making three free throws.
Texas trailed at intermission, 34-22, but had an excellent opportunity to cut into the lead to start the second period as ISU missed its first five shots and committed five turnovers in the first five minutes of the half. Texas made three of its first six shots in the half, as the Longhorns started with a 6-0 run, cutting the lead to six, 34-28, after a 12-foot baseline jumper from Bailey with 15:10 to go.
That was the closest the Longhorns would get in that stretch, as five unanswered points by Cyclone freshman guard Alison Lacey on a driving layup and 3-point jumper pushed the Iowa State lead to 11, 39-28 with 14:25 to play.
Texas again cut the lead down later in the half and trailed by seven, 47-40 with 7:21 to go after Williams scored consecutive layups. ISU answered again, however, as Medders hit a long three from the top of the key for a 50-40 lead. After a third consecutive Williams' layup, Medders followed with a 14-foot jumper on ISU's next possession to give the Cyclones a 52-42 edge with 6:14 left.
Texas cut the lead to six points, 58-52, with 1:06 left after a 3-pointer by freshman redshirt guard Carla Cortijo. Texas immediately fouled on the ISU inbounds, sending Medders to the foul line for a one-and-one opportunity. Medders hit both foul shots to give the Cyclones a 60-52 edge with 1:05 left. Cortijo scored immediately on UT's next time down the court on a short jumper, cutting the lead to 60-54 (52 seconds remaining).
ISU's Toccara Ross was fouled on the inbounds, and hit both for a 62-54 edge with 48 seconds to go. Texas missed on a long-range shot on its next trip downcourt and then fouled Medders on the inbounds. Medders iced the game with two made free throws and the 64-54 edge with 30 seconds to go.
To start the game, Iowa State jumped out to leads of 15-5 and 22-10, as the Longhorns were ice cold from the floor, opening the game by making just four of their first 24 shots. In contrast, the Cyclones connected on eight of their first 15 field goals to build the 22-10 lead with six minutes remaining.
With ISU up 22-10, the Longhorns went on a run in the next 5:52, scoring 12 of the game's 17 points to cut the lead to seven, 29-22, on an Earnesia Williams' backdoor layup with 2:02 to go in the half. ISU, however, closed out the half with a 5-0 run on two free throws from Toccara Ross and a Heather Ezell 3-pointer.
Texas committed just three first-half turnovers, but was hurt by cold shooting. The first half saw the Longhorns shoot 25 percent (9-for-36), with the Cyclones shooting 39 percent (10-for-26). ISU turned the ball over eight times. The big differences came from the 3-point line and free throw line, as ISU was five-for-12 in 3's and nine-for-10 from the foul line. In contrast, UT hit two of nine 3-pointers and was two-for-four in free throws. Iowa State also got 13 points from its bench players, while no Texas reserves scored.
The Cyclones also out-rebounded Texas in the first 20 minutes, 24-21.
Texas returns to action on Sunday, Jan. 21, hosting Texas A&M at the Frank Erwin Center in a State Farm Lone Star Showdown contest. Tip is at 2 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net and will air on KVET Radio 1300 AM in Central Texas as well.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas Head Coach Jody Conradt
Her general statement: I knew this would be a really tough game, I know how Bill (Fennelly) gets his team ready, especially after a few losses. We shot some shots too early, and did not hit the boards we needed to do. It is really hard to guard a team which is so good from the arc. You want to play principles and the first time you do and they shoot over you and hit the long shots, it is demoralizing.
We had our chances. It is hard to win here when you spot them the points we did in the first half. We did not shoot very welll. We did not reverse it or put it inside or get penetration. All of us were too anxious to shoot.
