By Hank Zimmerman
Ames, Ia. – The day after the Iowa State Women’s Basketball (6-1) team lost their first game of the 2016-2017 season against Mississippi State (8-0) , the team looked to regain composure in their last of a seven-game home stint with which they opened the season.
Shootaround the morning of Iowa State’s game against the University of New Orleans (3-4) was quiet according to ISU head coach Bill Fennelly. He mentioned that Cyclones were noticeably affected by the previous night’s 85-81 overtime loss against the Bulldogs.
With the loss in mind, the Cyclones took the court looking for a win in order to gain momentum in preparation for their next game against in-state rivals, the University of Iowa (6-3) on Wednesday, December 7th.
The first quarter of the game started slowly for Iowa State, as they opened 0-7 on field goals attempted. They simply looked frazzled as the struggled against the weight of the loss to Mississippi State. The Privateers, on the other hand, took control of the pace, even in the low scoring first frame.
This was perhaps the last point in the game in which UNO was in control. Iowa State ended the last two minutes of the first quarter and started the first eight of the second with 10 made field goals, pushing them past the Privateers; going into the second half with a seven-point lead.
Iowa State would continue to improve on the offensive side of the ball as the game went on, ultimately culminating in a 100-63 win over the University of New Orleans, their second largest of the season.
The offense came at the hands of several experienced Cyclones who shot the ball well throughout the game. Redshirt junior Jadda Buckley finished with 18 points on 5-9 shooting, 3-4 from beyond the arc. She also finished with nine total assists accompanied by only a single turnover; one of eleven total for Iowa State.
Beyond Buckley, junior guard Emily Durr contributed 19/4/4 off of the Cyclones’ bench. Meredith Burkhall, the sophomore forward from Urbandale, Iowa, scored 17 and had five total rebounds. Both players will be key in mounting a win against the Hawkeyes in their upcoming face off.
The leading scorer for the University of New Orleans was junior Kayla Mundy with 17. She proved to be an above-average isolation scorer, however she did turn the ball over three times in the game.
Iowa State Women’s Basketball will play their next game on Wednesday, December 7th, in Iowa City against the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. The last time the two teams played, Iowa State won 69-66.
