Finally, Iowa State women's basketball secures first win over Iowa in Cy-Hawk series since 2015
AMES – The Iowa State women’s basketball team finally got a chance to celebrate after five seasons of setbacks and four years of heartbreak in the Cy-Hawk series.
The 16th-ranked Cyclones picked up their first win in the series since 2015 with a 77-70 victory over the 13th-ranked Hawkeyes at Hilton Coliseum Wednesday night.
Ashley Joens scored 26 points for the Cyclones who snapped a five-game losing streak against the Hawkeyes. Iowa star Caitlin Clark, who spearheaded a huge comeback the previous season, finished with 26 points.
It wasn’t enough this time around, though as Iowa State survived a sluggish third quarter that saw them fall behind 45-43. The Cyclones stormed back later in the quarter and used a 7-0 run to take a 54-49 lead on a steal and a layup by Emily Ryan.
A big buzzer beating 3-pointer by Clark pulled Iowa to within three of Iowa State at the end of the third quarter.
More: Iowa State's Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw makes emotional return to play in first game in nearly a year
It looked like an all too familiar scene for Iowa State which had lost four of the last five games in the series by six points or less. The 2020 matchup was especially difficult for the Cyclones who let a 17-point lead in the second half disappear.
This time, they made sure to finish. As Iowa tried to crawl back, Iowa State fought back. Aubrey Joens connected on a big 3-opinter to push the lead to 70-61.
Ashley Joens sank three free throws in the final 14.1 seconds to secure the win.
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State women's basketball beats Iowa for first time since 2015
