Iowa State women's basketball team opens Big 12 play with road win over Oklahoma State
During the early part of the season, the Iowa State women's basketball team has relied heavily on several different freshmen scorers including Addy Brown, Audi Crooks and Kelsey Joens.
But a new contributor emerged Saturday.
Iowa State freshman Arianna Jackson contributed a career-high 14 points as the Cyclones opened up Big 12 Conference play with a 76-68 victory over Oklahoma State at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.
Crooks added 21 points and seven rebounds for the Cyclones, who also got 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists from Brown. That was to be expected from an Iowa State squad that improved to 8-4 on the season and is now 1-0 in Big 12 play.
The big-time contributions from Jackson may have been the difference-maker. The former Des Moines Roosevelt star was 5-of-7 from the field including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. She also had four rebounds.
Jackson came up big when Iowa State needed her the most. Clinging to a four-point lead in the third quarter, Jackson drained a deep ball to extend the Cyclones lead to seven, 47-40.
She delivered again with two key shots from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter to help Iowa State hold off Oklahoma State. The final bucket came after Oklahoma State trimmed the lead to six and gave ISU some much-needed breathing room.
The victory was the fourth straight for the Cyclones, who host Kansas on Wednesday.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State women's basketball opens Big 12 play, wins at Oklahoma State
