OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 13 Iowa State (25-8) made a valiant effort against No. 1 Baylor (31-1), but the Lady Bears were able to pull away in the fourth quarter to claim the title at the 2019 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship 67-49 on Monday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The loss snapped ISU’s five-game win streak, and was the Cyclones’ first since falling to the Lady Bears on Feb. 23.

In defeat, Iowa State was led by Alexa Middleton’s 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Bridget Carleton added 13 points and six rebounds. Carleton and Middleton were both named to the Championship All-Tournament Team, the first time ISU has had an honoree since 2013 and first time with multiple since 2001.

How It Happened
ISU was the first on the board with an Alexa Middleton 18-footer, but Baylor immediately responded with an 8-0 run to get ahead. The BU lead reached double figures at 16-6 on consecutive Chloe Jackson lay-ins, but ISU was able to step it up defensively forcing three-straight BU turnovers which was converted into a 7-0 ISU run to get back within five at 18-13 to end the quarter.

The Cyclones kept the momentum going to open the quarter as Middleton got the first five points of the quarter to knot it up again at 18-18. Baylor methodically put together an 8-0 run to get back ahead, taking advantage of 10-straight empty possessions from the Cyclone offense. However, Burkhall stepped up with a crucial three-point play to cut the Lady Bear halftime advantage to 30-25.

The Cyclones battled hard to start the second half and were rewarded by knotting the contest up at 37-37 on an Ashley Joens lay-in and again at 41-41 on a Carleton turnaround jumper. However, each time Baylor had the answers and eventually grinded back ahead by five at 46-41. Middleton continued her good work for ISU, as she got ISU back within four at 48-44 to close the period.

ISU’s two misses and two turnovers to start the fourth allowed BU to get ahead by nine at 53-44. ISU finally got on the board with a Carleton bucket after 3:20 being held off the board. It was too little too late, as Baylor hit 8-of-13 shots in the final quarter while ISU just had two buckets.

Players of Note
Alexa Middleton had another one of her best performances as a Cyclone 24 hours after her best. The redshirt senior finished with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting. She also had three assists.

Bridget Carleton wrapped up her Big 12 tournament with 13 points and six rebounds. In ISU’s three meetings against the No. 1 Lady Bears this year, Carleton finished with a combined 69 points.

Up Next
No. 13 Iowa State will learn its postseason fate next Monday, March 18, during the 2019 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Selection Show. The show will be at 6 p.m. and televised on ESPN.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Juniors Jordan Bohannon and Tyler Cook, sophomore Luka Garza, and freshman Joe Wieskamp earned postseason conference recognition, the Big Ten Conference announced on Monday.

Cook was voted to the All-Big Ten second-team by the media and third-team by the coaches; Bohannon was a third-team selection by the coaches and an honorable mention selection by the media; Garza was also an honorable mention choice by the media; Wieskamp was voted to the five-player All-Big Ten Freshman Team by the league head coaches. Redshirt senior Nicholas Baer was named Iowa men’s basketball Sportsmanship Award recipient for the third consecutive year.

Cook, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, ranks third in the league in free throws attempted per game (6.41), sixth in rebounding (8.1), ninth in field goal percentage (.534), and tied for 11th in scoring (15.0). Cook (6-foot-9, 250 pounds) is one of only two Big Ten student-athletes this season to average at least 15 points and eight rebounds per game (Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ). Cook is one of only nine players in program history to total more than 1,200 points and 600 rebounds. Cook has posted a team-best six double-doubles this season and is one of 15 players in Iowa history to record at least 15 career double-doubles. He recorded at least 15 points and five rebounds over a 10-game span from Nov. 30 to Jan. 12, becoming the first Hawkeye to accomplish the feat since James Winters 25 years ago (1993-94). The junior forward was named to the 2K Empire Classic All-Tournament Team, averaging 17.5 points and nine rebounds in wins over Oregon and Connecticut at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Bohannon, a native of Marion, Iowa, ranks first in the Big Ten in free throw accuracy (.877), fourth in three-pointers made per game (3.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1), tied for sixth in assists per game (3.4), and tied for 30th in points per game (11.8). For the second consecutive season, Bohannon led the league in free throw percentage during conference play. The junior guard missed only seven free throws in 20 Big Ten games this season (64-of-71, .901). Bohannon was 37-of-39 (.949) a year ago. Bohannon’s three-point shooting down the strectch in games versus Indiana (home and away) and Northwestern (home) helped propel Iowa to victories in those three games. He has a team-best 105 assists this season, becoming just the seventh Hawkeye to register three 100-assist seasons, joining Dean Oliver, Mike Gesell, Andre Woolridge, Devyn Marble, B.J. Armstrong, and Jeff Horner. Bohannon (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) leads the Hawkeyes with 73 three-point field goals; his career total of 258 is four shy of tying Jeff Horner for the most in program history.

Garza, a native of Washington, D.C., ranks sixth in the Big Ten in free throw accuracy (.819), 11th in field goal percentage (.525), and tied for 21st in points per game (13.0). Garza has scored in double figures in 17 games, including scoring 20 points or more a team-best seven times, including four straight games (Jan. 16-27). He netted a career-high 25 points in road games at Minnesota (Jan. 27) and Nebraska (March 10). Garza was named the 2K Empire Classic Most Valuable Player after averaging 17 points and 6.5 rebounds in helping lead Iowa to wins over Oregon and Connecticut at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Wieskamp, a native of Muscatine, Iowa, becomes the eighth Hawkeye to be voted to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team since 2007, including the sixth under head coach Fran McCaffery (Eric May in 2010; Melsahn Basabe in 2011; Aaron White in 2015; Jordan Bohannon and Tyler Cook in 2017). Wieskamp ranks third in the Big Ten in three-point accuracy (.431, 53-of-123), which currently ranks second all-time among Iowa freshmen behind Jake Kelly (.435, 30-of-69). Wieskamp twice earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors this season and sank the game-winning basket on a baseline 3-pointer that grazed the side of the backboard with 0.2 seconds remaining to propel Iowa to a 71-69 triumph at Rutgers on Feb. 16. Wieskamp tied an Iowa’s single-game 3-point percentage record when he made all six 3-point attempts in Iowa’s 24-point win over Illinois (Jan. 20), tying Jeff Horner (2004 versus Penn State) and Jim Bartels (1995 at Ohio State).

Baer earned the team’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the third straight season. The forward averages 6.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.25 assists. His 33 blocked shots and 31 steals lead the team, while his 6.6 point per game leads Hawkeye reserves. Baer is the first Hawkeye in program history to surpass 750 points, 500 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals, 100 blocked shots, and 100 three-pointers.

Both the media and coaches named Purdue’s Matt Painter and Michigan State’s Cassius Winston the Coach of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively. The coaches selected Penn State senior Josh Reaves as Defensive Player of the Year and Michigan State’s Xavier Tillman as Sixth Player of the Year. Both groups also named Ignas Brazdeikis of Michigan as Freshman of the Year.

Iowa (21-10, 10-10) will open play in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday against either 11th-seed Illinois (11-20, 7-13) or 14th-seeded Northwestern (13-18, 4-16). Game time is approximately 8:30 p.m. (CT) at the United Center in Chicago.