Oklahoma State women dominate Iowa State 71-42
BY KELLY HINES World Sports Writer
Monday, January 21, 2013
1/21/13 at 6:03 AM
STILLWATER - Iowa State blinked, and the game was out of its control.
In a dominant 71-42 win, No. 17 Oklahoma State opened the second half with a 20-0 run to stave off the 24th-ranked Cyclones on Sunday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
"Our coach just told us after the game we went on a 15-0 run," point guard Tiffany Bias said. "It didn't even seem like that. I think we were having so much fun playing that we didn't even notice."
After being informed the run was even bigger than that, Bias said: "Oh, I didn't even know that. I guess we were just on fire. We really played good today and just executed. We really played the style of ball that we want to play."
An 8-0 run gave OSU its first lead eight minutes into the game, and the Cowgirls (14-3, 3-2 in Big 12) were on top 31-21 at halftime despite leading scorer Toni Young spending most of the half on the bench with two fouls.
"You don't ever want to see a talent like Toni Young and a tremendous athlete go to the bench like that, but that's the sign of a good team when somebody comes in and takes up the slack," coach Jim Littell said.
Young didn't attempt her first shot until the 16:20 mark of the second half, but that's when a great pass from Lindsey Keller resulted in a key basket that pushed the lead to 44-21.
"It was a nice play," Littell said. "If you don't get fired up about that, you don't have a pulse to you.
"They shared the ball; they were looking for each other. It was a fast, quick play. That one will probably go on the highlight reel."
Defensively, OSU shut down the Cyclones (13-3, 4-2) for eight minutes, not allowing a field goal.
"I thought defensively it was as good as we've been in a long time around here, not only how we guarded but how we stayed to the (scouting report) and knew where shooters were," Littell said.
And when Iowa State missed, the speedy Cowgirls cashed in with transition buckets, led by Bias.
"I've just learned as the year's gone on and grown," Bias said of finding teammates in transition. "I don't have to go 100 miles per hour every second.
"... (If) I'm going to see a person who's open in front of me, I'd rather have them get the easy layup."
After recording a dozen assists against Texas last week, Bias had 11 on Sunday, along with 12 points, four rebounds and three steals.
Six of Bias' assists were to sharpshooter Liz Donohoe, who led all scorers with 18 points and hit four 3-pointers.
"People have to guard (Bias)," Donohoe said. "They have to stop her first and then that gets the wings open. She has great court vision. She's a great point guard. Her going in and driving and they all crash on her opens us up."
Instead of letting the Cyclones trim the deficit late in the game, OSU kept gunning. Kendra Suttles and Young combined for 29 points in the second half and were among five Cowgirls who scored in double digits.
"Obviously, we just got totally beat up, spanked, whatever term you want to use," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. "Oklahoma State was great, and (it was) by far the worst we've played all year."
Original Print Headline: Cowgirls blast Cyclones
Kelly Hines 918-581-8452
kelly.hines@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Oklahoma State's Brittney Martin shoots over Iowa State's Chelsea Poppens during Sunday's game in Stillwater. OSU won 71-42. SARAH PHIPPS / The Oklahoman
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