Thanks in large part to a poor shooting performance, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women’s basketball team fell to Iowa State 85-48 in Ames, Iowa on Saturday.

The Panthers shot just 24.6 percent from the field, connecting on only 14 of 57 attempts.

The Cyclones, meanwhile, shot 49.7 percent from the field en route to their 37-point victory. They were led by forward Nicky Wieben’s team-high 19 points and six rebounds.

A trio of Milwaukee sophomores did their best, however, to keep the Panthers in the game. Traci Edwards led the Panthers with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Turquoise McCain and Kim Wypiszynski each had nine points, respectively.

Panther head coach Sandy Botham knew it would be a tough match up heading into the game.

“We knew how deadly they could be from outside,” she said. “We saw them as an outside-inside team and focused on defending the three-pointer.”

The Cyclones took advantage of their size early and often, scoring 38 points in the paint. They finished with a 46-33 rebounding advantage as well.

“They have a number post go-to players. They have three different players that can be down on the block. When one leaves the game, another comes in,” Botham said.

Iowa State also took advantage of a couple key runs that saw its lead grow to a comfortable level. After an early 2-2 tie, the Cyclones reeled off an 8-1 run. Another 11-3 run shortly thereafter saw them up 23-10 with about seven and a half minutes to go in the half.

After a second-half three-pointer by Edwards cut the lead to 45-32, Iowa State went on its biggest run of the day, a 19-2 outburst that all but ended Milwaukee’s hopes.

The Panthers did a good job of getting to the line, knocking down 14 of 19 from the charity stripe. But the Cyclones exceeded that by hitting 23 of 26 attempts of their own.

Botham credited Iowa State’s head coach Bill Fennelly, who was her position coach in college, for the Cyclone’s solid execution.

“I had a lot to learn from Bill at Notre Dame, and I still do now. His team really executes well. They are a well-oiled machine and your are not going to win if you can’t score,” she said.

The Panthers’ next game is Thursday, Dec. 7, as they host Air Force at the Klotsche Center.

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