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  Saturday, Dec. 2 4:30pm ET
Gahan, Welle spark Cyclones' attack
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa State's big first-half and sticky defense were too much for DePaul.

Angie Welle scored 24 points while playing only 22 minutes and Tracy Gahan added 13 points and 12 rebounds as the Cyclones (No. 11 ESPN/USA Today, No. 8 AP) beat DePaul 81-65 on Saturday.

Lindsey Wilson had 15 points and seven assists for Iowa State (4-0), which shut down DePaul scoring leader Lenae Williams and was never threatened after building a 25-point halftime lead.

"I thought the first half was about as good as we could play," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. "We've been on our kids really hard the last couple of days, especially Lindsey. I thought she really set the tempo."

Iowa State constantly beat DePaul into position for good shots, outscoring the Blue Demons 38-18 in the paint and 21-5 at the free throw line.

Welle was 7-for-10 from the field and shot 15 free throws. DePaul coach Doug Bruno said he felt he had no choice but to guard the 6-foot-4 center 1-on-1.

"If you zone them, then you let them shoot 3s all day," Bruno said. "If you double down on Welle, they still shoot 3s all day. There's not a whole lot you can do with them. They have a great system."

Iowa State also did the job defensively against Williams, who was averaging 23.7 points. She scored only four on 2-for-10 shooting as Iowa State slid its zone in her direction to keep the pressure on her.

"We were just so concerned with where she was on the court at all times," Welle said. "We had to really communicate and help each other out. We double-teamed her when we could and just tried to make it as difficult as possible."

DePaul (1-3) shot just 25 percent (8-for-32) in the first half. Its 67 percent second-half shooting came too late to make any difference. Candis Blankston led DePaul with 16 points and Briana Fitzgerald scored 15.

Iowa State, which needed a late basket by Welle to beat Creighton 74-71 on Wednesday, had a much easier time with the Blue Demons, who stayed with the Cyclones for only the first few minutes.

DePaul trailed just 14-12 with 11 minutes left in the first half, but made just three more baskets the rest of the period and Iowa State pulled away. Gahan hit two 3-pointers to help get the Cyclones going and they got the ball to Welle for easy shots inside.

Iowa State closed the half with a 13-0 run to take a 44-19 lead. The Cyclones stretched the lead to 61-30 on Megan Taylor's 3-pointer with 14:20 left and coasted from there as Fennelly substituted liberally down the stretch.
 


ALSO SEE
Womens College Basketball Scoreboard

DePaul Clubhouse

Iowa State Clubhouse