ISU nips MU

CHARLIE NEIBERGALL/Associated Press Iowa State's Angie Welle (32) pulls down a rebound between Missouri's Tracy Franklin (22) and Marlena Williams, right, in the first half.

Bright did all she could, hitting three 3-pointers and a tough layup in the final six minutes, but it was not enough, as No. 7 Iowa State remained unbeaten in the Big 12 Conference, squeezing out a home victory against Missouri 68-67 on Wednesday.

With 40 seconds remaining, Bright hit a crucial 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 65-64 lead. The lead did not last long as Cyclone Tracy Gahan hit a layup with 26 seconds on the clock.

But the Tigers had one final chance.

After a Missouri timeout, Tiger forward Amanda Lassiter, who led the team with 21 points, got the ball on the right corner and heaved a 3-pointer that hit nothing but air with 20 seconds remaining.

“It was a lot of pressure on Amanda,” Missouri coach Cindy Stein said, who is now 0-6 versus Iowa State. “We had to take the best shot no matter how much time was left. But we weren’t ready for it. We had no one ready for the rebound. It wasn’t the best shot. It was quicker than I would have liked.”

CHARLIE NEIBERGALL/Associated Press Missouri's Natalie Bright (32) runs at Iowa State's Lindsey Wilson, left, in the second half.

Cyclone super center Angie Welle, who had 18 points and 20 rebounds, made one of two free throws. Tiger freshman forward Evan Unrau tried to grab the missed free throw but inadvertently knocked the ball out of bounds.

After Gahan’s free throw, the Cyclones led 68-65 with 12.6 seconds remaining.

After another miss from Lassiter, Unrau grabbed the rebound and only had time for a two-point tip in to cut the lead to 68-67 with two seconds remaining. Missouri guard Kerensa Barr stole a touchdown pass and launched a three-quarters court shot that missed by a mile as the Cyclones narrowly walked away with the victory.

It was the second straight heartbreaking conference road loss for Missouri (11-5, 2-3 Big 12), who were down by as many as 12 in the second half. The Tigers lost at Colorado 98-90 Sunday after coming back from a 12-point halftime deficit.

Iowa State (14-1, 5-0 Big 12) pounded the ball to its star player, Welle, a preseason All-Big 12 pick. The 6-foot-4 junior dominated Unrau and was a key reason for foul-prone center Marlena “Pep” Williams’ ejection with seven minutes remaining.

Williams picked up her fifth foul after what appeared to be a clean steal on Iowa State guard Megan Taylor. When the referee whistled her for her final foul Williams slammed the ball on the court in disgust and received a technical foul in addition to the shooting foul on Taylor. Taylor hit the four consecutive free throws (two for the technical foul and two for the foul on Williams) to give the Cyclones a 57-52 lead, extending a 10-0 Iowa State run.

CHARLIE NEIBERGALL/Associated Press Iowa State's Erica Junod, center, fights for a loose ball with Missouri's Tracy Lozier, right, and Evan Unrau (13). Iowa State's Kelly Cizek (35) looks on.

The Cyclones continued to shoot well and added seven more points to make it a 17-0 run with the score 63-55 ISU with six minutes remaining.

Missouri answered with a 10-0 run, due in part to six consecutive Iowa State missed shots. Bright started it off with a 3-pointer that got the Missouri bench into frenzy, followed by a trey from guard Tracy Franklin. Bright followed with a layup while being fouled and another 3-pointer to cut the Cyclone lead to 64-62 with 3:35 remaining.

Lassiter almost tied the ballgame at 64 after stealing an errant pass from Welle but missed a breakaway layup as she appeared to be fatigued from playing 37 minutes.

“I told our kids that I’m not satisfied with a loss, that there are no moral victories,” Missouri coach Cindy Stein said. “We lost our poise in the final two minutes, and that turned the game around.’’

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