Rob Gray

Those infusions of zest proved to be fleeting, however. The Cyclones trailed the Panthers (2-8) for more than five minutes in the first half before a Milan Momcilovic 3-pointer capped a 16-5 run that gave them a 44-28 edge at the break.

It has been 4 years since Iowa State’s women’s basketball team won the mythical state title by sweeping Drake, Iowa and Northern Iowa.

The Cyclones will play three more non conference games against the Panthers, Long Beach State, and Houston Christian before opening Big 12 play on Jan. 2 against West Virginia at home.

Each powerful swoop upward coaxed more raucous noise from Hilton Coliseum’s 14,267 denizens, who roared their approval as the No. 4 Cyclones iced a tense 66-62 win over hard-nosed and upset-minded Iowa in Thursday’s Cy-Hawk game.

There Cyclones — Crooks, Brown and point guard Jada Williams — recorded double-doubles as the Hawkeyes’ three-game win streak in the series was snapped.

Lipsey always wins those tendon-testing battles. Eventually, anyway. Now he’s back in the No. 4 Cyclones’ starting lineup for the second straight time after missing three games because of a groin injury — and the opponent just happens to be Cy-Hawk rival Iowa (8-1).

The Gazette Iowa football and Iowa sports beat writer Madison Hricik talks with the Gazette Iowa State athletics correspondent Rob Gray about the men’s and women’s basketball Cy-Hawk series games happening December 10 and December 11.

Expect another tense and nerve-fraying matchup at 6 p.m. Wednesday when Fennelly’s 10th-ranked Cyclones (10-0) face the No. 11 Hawkeyes (9-0) at Hilton Coliseum in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN.

Rogers never intended to leave Pullman, but ISU had always been a dream destination, so when the Cyclones’ athletics director, Jamie Pollard, called him Friday as outgoing head coach Matt Campbell took the same job at Penn State, it was simply an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Crooks scored 30 points in 19 minutes and Brown stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds as No. 10 ISU cruised past Northern Illinois, 105-52, on Sunday before a crowd of 9,538 at Hilton Coliseum.

Because of that decision, the Big 12 Conference announced that ISU and Kansas State — which also declined a bowl bid as it transitions into the Collin Klein era — would each be fined $500,000 for “opting out of their participation” in the league’s bowl pool.

ISU turned a 35-31 halftime lead into the most lopsided home setback for Purdue in a non-conference game in its nearly 130-year history.

As it became increasingly likely that Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell would be leaving to accept the Penn State job, the Cyclones’ athletics director, Jamie Pollard, had one simple, but important fast-paced plan to implement.

No. 10 ISU will face top-ranked Purdue at 11 a.m. Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind. CBS will broadcast the game to a national audience. The Cyclones will compete in their 16th top-10 matchup in program history, with nine coming under fifth-year head coach T.J. Otzelberger.

The Cyclone shot 70.8 percent from the field and 73.3 percent from beyond the arc. Star forward Joshua Jefferson scored 13 of his team’s first 17 points and finished with 24 points, 10 assists and zero turnovers.