AMES, Iowa (AP) -- The emotions of Senior Night almost got the best of Iowa State.
The Cyclones (No. 19 ESPN/USA Today, No. 21 AP) came out tight, missed easy shots, threw the
ball away and never seemed to relax. But they did just enough down
the stretch to escape with a 61-52 victory over Kansas on Tuesday
night in a game that had plenty of grit and determination but little style.
Not that it mattered to Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly.
"You can write and say what you want about the game, I don't
care what it looks like. It doesn't bother me one bit," Fennelly
said. "It was kind of like one of those tournament games where
your mentality is to win and move and the aesthetics don't mean
anything."
Mary Fox and Katie Robinette scored 18 points apiece to lead the
Cyclones (22-5, 12-4), who needed Anne O'Neil's eight straight free
throws in the final 2 minutes to finally shake the Jayhawks, who
had lost to Iowa State by 33 at home in January.
"I think we were as fired up as we always are, maybe even
more," said Robinette, one of the team's five seniors. "But I
know I had tears in my eyes when we ran out to warm up. I think
everybody did. It's just a more emotional game."
That it was, Fennelly added.
"The emotion on the team was so thick you could cut it," he
said.
Things went from emotional to tense when Kansas (12-15, 5-11)
pulled ahead 52-51 on Taylor McIntosh's basket inside with 3:13
remaining. But Fox took a pass from O'Neil and made a 14-footer to
put the Cyclones back on top, Kansas missed its last seven shots
and Iowa State survived, thanks to O'Neil's cool performance at the
line.
O'Neil hit two free throws with 1:52 remaining to make it 55-52,
then hit six more in the final 33.3 seconds when Kansas was forced
to foul. She finished with 16 points and four assists, while
Robinette grabbed 10 rebounds.
"There's no doubt about it," O'Neil said. "I knew I could
finish the game and make a couple of free throws."
Erica Hallman led Kansas with 15 points and Kaylee Brown scored
13. Crystal Kemp, the team's leading scorer with a 13.5 average,
was scoreless until making a turnaround shot with 10:33 left in the
game and finished with nine points.
"We got good looks down the stretch," Kansas coach Bonnie
Henrickson said. "We missed three layups there in the last 2 or 3
minutes. Then Fox hit that one shot and it really became a free
throw contest after that."
Fennelly started all his seniors and for a while, they looked
like freshmen playing their first game. With 6:41 gone, the
Cyclones were 1-for-7 with five turnovers and Kansas led 9-4.
Kansas was milking the shot clock to control the tempo and Iowa
State couldn't get into its transition game.
The Cyclones eventually settled in and led 25-24 at halftime,
then appeared on the verge of breaking it open in the second half,
going on an 11-0 run to take a 40-31 lead.
But the Jayhawks didn't buckle. Five straight points by Kemp cut
the lead to 44-40 and Brown's 3-pointer from the right corner drew
the Jayhawks to 44-43. The margin was never more than two after
that until O'Neil started her free throw parade.
"Normally I'd be so mad I couldn't breathe after a game like
this," Fennelly said. "But I don't care."
The only non-senior who scored for the Cyclones was sophomore
Megan Ronhovde, who had five points. The seniors accounted for the
team's final 41 points.
"I think that's a fitting way to end our last game," Robinette
said.