Iowa State women’s basketball: Cyclones let one slip away in 71-64 loss to Texas Longhorns

Improvement is showing for the Iowa State women’s basketball team, but the same result continues to happen after falling to Texas in Austin on Sunday.

Mar 11, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Nikki Moody (4) drives up court against Baylor Bears during the Big 12 Championship game at American Airlines Center. Baylor won 75-47. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

The Cyclones (16-7, 5-7) had the lead for the first 37 minutes of action, but Brady Sanders for the Longhorns (16-7, 7-4) drilled a 3-point shot to take a 62-61 lead. Texas wouldn’t lose the lead again after Iowa State couldn’t make a shot (no field goals in the last six minutes) and broke down defensively.

Nikki Moody was brilliant for the Cyclones, leading the team with 19 points. She was 5-of-10 from 3-point range and also grabbed seven rebounds. Seanna Johnson nearly had a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, but missed all six attempts from the perimeter.

Sanders had 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. She accounted for two of the six 3-pointers made for Texas. Iowa State was 11-of-37 as a team from 3-point range, but that wasn’t enough.

The Cyclones finally improved in the first half shooting the ball, hitting on a 38.7 percent clip. But that fell to 32.8 percent overall after second-half shooting sunk well under 30 percent. Another disappointment was rebounding; Iowa State was owned on the boards 43-29.

Iowa State has now lost six of their last eight games, and NCAA tournament hopes are fading fast with a rough schedule ahead. Before they face the gauntlet of Baylor, Texas, and Oklahoma State, Kansas sandwiches those three teams. The first meeting against the Jayhawks will be on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 PM Central time and it will be broadcast on Cyclones.tv.