The shorthanded Iowa State Cyclones came into Saturday’s nationally televised game 3-5 in the Big 12. They had lost four of their last five games since losing forward Addy Brown to injury. None of that mattered against an overmatched Arizona Wildcats, who fell behind by 24 at the half on the way to a 90-65 defeat in Ames, Iowa.
It was the most points that Arizona had given up all season. Arizona women’s basketball head coach Becky Burke was happy with both the preparation and the players’ attempts to execute the game plan.
“The game plan, never a question,” Burke said. “Their efforts, never a question. We got to make some shots. We got to be a little bit better in certain areas that are difficult for us right now.”
Whatever that game plan was, it involved significant changes to Arizona’s lineup. Burke started freshman guard Molly Ladwig for the third time this season and played her for a career-high 29 minutes. Ladwig made her last start against Northern Colorado on Nov. 25 and had never played more than 17 mintues. She averages just 7.7 minutes per game.
Burke played guard Tanyuel Welch just 14 minutes. Welch leads the Wildcats in rebounding and is second in scoring among the healthy players and third overall. Welch’s last play of the game was an offensive rebound that she tried to put back before coming down and injuring her ankle.
“She rolled it, and I know she was in a lot of pain,” Burke said. “You know, ankles when you roll them, it’s excruciating for those first few minutes and first couple hours. So we’ll probably reevaluate here later tonight.”
Freshman forward Daniah Trammell sat on the bench until the waning minutes when her teammates began to foul out.
Arizona went with a starting lineup of Welch, Ladwig, Lani Cornfield, Sumayah Sugapong, and Nora Francois. Kamryn Kitchen came off the bench to contribute 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 turnovers in 31 minutes. Achol Magot and Blessing ‘Adde’ Adebanjo got the other minutes inside. MJ Jurado also made a brief appearance late in the game.
“They had a zone and, like I said, we’re pretty one dimensional with certain players,” Burke said. “We’ve got the kids that can shoot it, and then if they’re in man, they’re not as effective. And then we’ve got the ones that can beat you off the bounce, but if they’re in zone, those ones aren’t as effective. So it’s really the flow of the game and what the defensive look is from the other team, and they were mixing it up. And I just felt more comfortable with Molly and Kam in this one.”
Arizona did not play team basketball or sound defense. The Wildcats had just three assists against 11 turnovers in the first half. The Cyclones turned those giveaways into 17 points in the first 20 minutes.
It didn’t get much better for the Wildcats. They ended the game with eight assists on 25 made buckets. While they cut their turnovers down to four in the second half, Iowa State ended the game with 23 points scored off 15 UA turnovers.
Cornfield came into the game ranked second in the Big 12 in assists per game. She sat just tenths behind former Wildcat and current Cyclone Jada Williams, who leads the league in the stat. Williams almost met her average for the game with seven assists. Cornfield finished over five assists below hers with two.
Fouls plagued both teams, but especially the Wildcats. Cornfield had three fouls in the first half. Magot had four. ISU star Audi Crooks was one of three Cyclones with two fouls by halftime, and she picked up her fourth on an offensive foul to start the fourth quarter. Four Wildcats had four by the beginning of the fourth and Francois became the fifth less than a minute into the final period.
Then came the disqualifications. Arizona had five players foul out beginning with Ladwig at 7:34 in the fourth. Next was Kitchen, who left after an offensive foul with 4:08 to go. Magot left at 3:54 followed by Francois with 3:47 left on the clock. Finally came Cornfield with 3:07 left in the game.
“They shot 31 free throws,” Burke said. “We can’t continue to put teams in the bonus the way that we do. We’re in complete control of that.”
Trammell made her first appearance when Cornfield was disqualified. She was the last available player on the bench, so when Welch fell to the floor in severe pain with 2:40 to go, Arizona completed the game with just four players on the court. Welch’s cries could be heard clearly on the broadcast, and she was carried off the floor by the Arizona training staff.
Cornfield led the Wildcats in scoring. She had 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 shooting from the line. She added one rebound, two assists, one steal, and three turnovers.
Williams tied Cornfield’s 19 points, which were the game highs, but she had a much more well-rounded statistical game than her counterpart. The former Arizona player added four rebounds, seven assists, and one steal. She turned the ball over seven times.
While ISU had five players in double figures, only Sugapong (13 points) and Ladwig (10 points) joined Cornfield for Arizona. Sugapong added five rebounds, one assist, and four turnovers in 39 minutes. She joined Welch as the only Arizona starters who did not foul out. Ladwig contributed one assist and two steals to go with her points in 29 minutes on the court. She joined Welch as the only Arizona starters who did not turn the ball over.
The Wildcats will stay on the road for the next game, but it will be much closer to home. They travel to Tempe to take on ASU on Wednesday, Jan. 28.
