Iowa State women’s basketball entered its Feb. 10 game at BYU riding a giant wave of momentum.
The Cyclones had won five-straight games and had just gotten back into the USA Today coaches’ poll earlier in the day.
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All that momentum died in the third quarter Tuesday night.
Iowa State struggled massively in the third quarter, a frame that doomed the No. 25 Cyclones during an 83-69 loss to BYU at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. The loss was the first since Iowa State suffered an 86-58 loss at Oklahoma State back on Jan. 18.
The Cyclones fell to 18-6 on the season and 7-6 in Big 12 play, ending a five game winning streak that got the struggling squad back on track following a five game losing streak earlier in the year.
Audi Crooks scored 18 points for the Cyclones. Jada Willis finished with 16 points while Kenzie Hare chipped in with 15. The three had the bulk of the scoring for the Cyclones, who couldn’t keep up with the 52% shooting of BYU.
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Williams spent most of the second quarter on the bench after picking up her third foul. Still, the Cyclones survived without her and went into halftime with BYU up by just one, 43-42.
Any chance Iowa State had of winning its sixth straight game quickly ended during the disastrous third quarter. BYU outscored the Cyclones 26-10 and took complete control of the game. Iowa State shot just 23.5% (4-of-17) from the field in the quarter, including 1-for-6 from 3.
An 8-0 run by BYU in the quarter gave the Cougars a 69-49 lead they would never relinquish.
The Cyclones are back in action on Sunday, Feb. 15, when it welcomes Kansas State to Ames.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Third quarter struggles doom Iowa State women’s basketball vs BYU
