Minnesota Loses at Iowa State

Ames, Iowa – The Minnesota women's basketball team found more than an icy and treacherous Interstate 35 on their road trip to Iowa State. The Gophers suffered a disappointing 58-42 loss to the Cyclones in their final non-conference game before embarking on their Big Ten Conference slate. Minnesota , 8-3 on the season, was led by Emily Fox with 19 points   Down by 23 points to start the second half, Minnesota opened with a lineup that included three freshmen (Jackie Voigt, Kiara Buford and Brianna Mastey). Fox opened with a jumper to attempt to begin a long up-hill battle to get back into the ballgame. Every player in uniform saw action as Gopher head coach Pam Borton tried to find a combination that was successful on the court.   The Gophers chipped away at the Cyclones' lead by forcing Iowa State into eight early second-half turnovers. A three-pointer by Fox from the left wing with 8:42 on the clock brought Minnesota to within 12 points at 45-33. Iowa State missed a pair of free throws and had one offensive possession to cut the lead to possible single digits but a spinning jumper by Fox bounced off the rim.   Iowa State (8-2) re-established its lead with a 7-0 run as the Gophers' offense again turned ice cold. Four minutes later, Ashley Ellis-Milan finally scored the Gophers' next points on a pair of free throws but the Gophers were unable to make another serious run.   The first half was nothing short of a nightmare for the Gophers as they found themselves on the wrong end of a 40-17 score. Iowa State scored 17 points off Minnesota 's 13 turnovers and another 14 on offensive rebounds. In addition, Iowa State scored another 11 points from the free throw line, while the Gophers failed to visit the charity stripe a single time.   Iowa State used a 9-0 run to break away from a 10-10 tie early on. Kelsey Bolte, who entered the game averaging 8.2 points a game, had 12 by halftime. Fox scored 10 points on 4-of-8 from the field. Ohm was the only other starter to even contribute points, scoring on the one field goal she attempted, but the remainder of the starting lineup went 0-10 from the floor.   The Gophers open Big Ten play in their next outing, Sunday, Dec. 29, at Wisconsin .