AMES – With Iowa State women’s basketball clinging to a three-point lead in the second quarter, Cyclones star Addy Brown caught a pass from near the top of the key and looked around for an open teammate. Brown found Sydney Harris standing wide open on the other side of the floor and fired a pass to her teammate.
Harris, who came off the bench to provide a spark for the Cyclones, caught the ball and quickly fired up a shot that swished through the net. The bucket gave Iowa State much-needed points and the first bit of momentum against non-conference foe Southern.
That second-quarter 3-pointer by Harris jump-started a 15-0 run that ended up being the difference-maker as No. 17 Iowa State overcame a slow start and rolled to an 85-58 victory over Southern at Hilton Coliseum on Nov. 5. With the victory, the Cyclones improved to 2-0 on the young season.
“That changed the game immediately,” said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly
Audi Crooks scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Cyclones and Jada Williams added 17. But it was Harris, a role player, who came up with some of the biggest baskets of the night. She finished with eight points. And the first few were important.
Two days after dominating St. Thomas in its season opener, Iowa State struggled out of the gate against Southern. The Cyclones missed all three of their first-quarter 3-pointers and allowed an athletic and energetic Southern team to stay in the game. The Jaguars even tied the game, 14-14, on a jumper by Zaria Hurston.
Iowa State regained the lead on a pair of free throws by Kenzie Hare at the end of the first quarter. Southern’s Mykayla Cunningham sank 1-of-2 free throws to cut Iowa State’s lead to 20-17 in the second quarter. The intense full-court defense by Southern kept Iowa State out of rhythm early on and led to the slow start.
“We’ve got to know how to come out strong,” Williams said. “We’ve got to be ready to come out strong and that’s something we’re going to work on.”
It didn’t take too long for Iowa State to get going.
The Cyclones explored for 15-straight points and closed out the half on a 21-4 run to take control of the game. Harris not only got the run started, but kept it going by knocking down another 3-pointer to extend Iowa State’s lead to 26-17. Brown followed with a jumper and Arianna Jackson hit another shot from beyond the arc. Crooks capped it off with a pair of free throws and a layup to give Iowa State a 35-17 lead.
But it was Harris who was the biggest factor, hitting back-to-back shots from beyond the arc. It’s just what Fennelly has been hoping to get out of her this season off the bench. Fennelly has compared Harris to Curtis Jones, who was a key contributor for the Iowa State men off the bench last season. He believes Harris could do the same for the Cyclones.
“That was a huge, huge part of the game that maybe everyone kind of relaxed a little bit,” Fennelly said.
The Cyclones rolled from there with Crooks, who had a double-double secured by the third quarter, leading the way. Iowa State got contributions across the board. Hare also finished with eight points. Freshman guard Reese Beaty chipped in with six points, three rebounds and two assists. Despite an off-night shooting, Brown still filled the stat sheet and finished with six points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
A fourth-quarter layup banked in by Crooks gave the center her 1,500th career point and pushed Iowa State’s lead to 70-41.
“Once we were able to get our bearings and understand that if we play fundamentally, then we can get any shot we want, that’s when we started to climb,” Crooks said.
Iowa State has a chance to cap off its first week of the season with another win. The Cyclones host Sacred Heart on Nov. 9 at Hilton Coliseum at 1 p.m. While victory No. 2 was far from flawless for the Cyclones, there were still tons to be pleased with in what has started as a nice week for the Cyclones.
“I thought we were pretty good,” Fennelly said.
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Second-quarter run propels Iowa State women’s basketball to win over Southern
Reporting by Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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