AMES, Iowa — Iowa women’s basketball trailed for most of its contest with Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum in Ames on Wednesday night.

The Cyclones built a lead as large as 12 points in the second quarter, and the Hawkeyes couldn’t quite overcome the deficit. Iowa ultimately fell, 77-70.

Iowa led the game for just five minutes and 36 seconds. The Hawkeyes’ largest lead was four points. Iowa trailed for over 30 minutes, and spent three minutes and 58 seconds of the contest tied.

The Cyclones’ win snapped their five-game losing streak to the Hawkeyes — their first victory since the 2016-17 season.

“I’m very happy for our [players],” Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said postgame. “They get to talk about that. I’m happy for our fanbase. I’m happy for everyone who loves Iowa State. We had our stretch where we beat [Iowa] five years in a row at one point. It’s fun that this kinda game and this kinda rivalry brings that much attention to our school, our sport, and our state.

“The [Cy-Hawk] games have been so competitive,” Fennelly added. “Luckily, tonight we finished it, unlike the last couple years.”

BIG PICTURE

Iowa lost its second game in a six-day stretch Wednesday. The Hawkeyes fell to the Duke Blue Devils, 79-64, on Dec. 2 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in North Carolina.

Iowa entered its matchup with Duke ranked ninth in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. Following the loss, Iowa dropped to No. 12 in the rankings.

With a loss to Iowa State now also on its resume, Iowa is in danger of falling even farther down the poll.

“One game doesn’t define a season,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “It’s a road game, in a great environment, against a really good basketball team. We’re gonna learn from that. We’re gonna be in these positions later on. We’re gonna learn a lot from the film. You gotta keep just moving along. That’s what this is all about.”

The Hawkeyes are now 5-2 on the season and 1-0 in Big Ten Conference play. Iowa beat Michigan State, 88-61, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Dec. 5.

VOLUME SHOOTING

The Cyclones and Hawkeyes clearly run their offenses through two players: Point guard Caitlin Clark and forward Ashley Joens.

On the evening, Clark took 26 shots for Iowa and Joens fired 28 toward the basket for Iowa State. Clark finished the day 10-of-26 shooting, and Joens went 9-of-28.

The pair scored 52 points combined — 26 each.

As a team, Iowa State finished the evening with a 38.8 shooting percentage. The Cyclones made 32.1 percent of their shots from distance.

The Hawkeyes’ field goal and 3-point percentages were 40.6 and 33.3, respectively.

TURNOVER TROUBLE

Iowa has turned the ball over more than 10 times in every game so far this season. The Hawkeyes finished Wednesday’s contest with 13 turnovers, bringing their season total up to 108. Iowa’s averaged 13.5 giveaways per game this year.

Iowa’s season-high turnover total came against New Hampshire Nov. 9 as the Hawkeyes racked up 19 giveaways.

Iowa State scored 18 points off turnovers, compared to Iowa’s nine Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Iowa faces a ten-day break between now and its next game. The Hawkeyes won’t play again until Dec. 18, when they host the University of Central Florida at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“I think we’re a ways away yet,” Bluder said of her team’s potential. “. . . We need to get some consistency. We need to play games.”

The brunt of Iowa’s nonconference schedule begins Dec. 30, when the Hawkeyes take on the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania.