Iowa State women's basketball drops third Big 12 game with loss at West Virginia
Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly tinkered with his starting lineup Saturday, hoping a little adjustment would help his Cyclones squad that has been undergoing some recent struggles.
The change didn’t solve all their issues.
Iowa State suffered its third Big 12 loss of the season with an 84-78 setback at No. 23 West Virginia on Saturday. The Cyclones fell to 12-7 on the season and 6-3 in Big 12 Conference play.
Audi Crooks, who tallied a career-high 25 points in Iowa State’s previous game, matched that in Saturday's road loss. She also finished with 16 rebounds.
Fellow Iowa State freshman Jalynn Bristow, making her first career collegiate start, chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds.
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It wasn’t enough to end Iowa State’s recent skid, which comes after the Cyclones won their first five games of the conference season and were awarded a sixth victory due to a forfeit by Texas Christian.
West Virginia’s press defense tormented Iowa State and forced 24 turnovers. Iowa State also shot just 5-of-13 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Still, the Cyclones somehow stayed within striking distance of West Virginia for most of the game, evening leading 40-38 at halftime.
The Mountaineers took control of things in the third quarter by going on a 10-0 run to take a 63-57 lead. Iowa State, despite struggling to shoot it for most of the fourth quarter, still pulled to within three with under two minutes to play.
But that was as close as it got after a 3-pointer by West Virginia put the Mountaineers ahead by five.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State women's basketball loses road game vs. West Virginia
