AMES, Iowa (AP) — Seanna Johnson hit the game-winning layup with 19 seconds left as Iowa State rallied from an 18-point deficit to stun third-ranked Texas 59-57 on Saturday, knocking the Longhorns from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Nikki Moody had 17 points to lead Iowa State (11-3, 2-1 Big 12), which defeated a top-three team at home for the first time in 12 years.
Texas led by as much as 37-19 late in the first half. But Iowa State answered with a 38-13 run and the Longhorns went cold in the second half, hitting just 8 of 38 shots.
Brady Sanders had 16 points for Texas (13-1, 2-1), which held Iowa State to just Johnson’s basket in the final 8:10 and still lost.
Texas let Iowa State erase its massive lead in less than 10 minutes — and Kidd Blaskowsky’s 3 gave the Cyclones a 50-47 lead with 10:57 left.
Instead of responding, the Longhorns folded.
Texas scored just six points in a stretch spanning nearly 10 minutes in the second half until Brooke McCarty’s 3 made it 57-56 Iowa State with 3:30 left. Nneka Enemkpali missed a layup just before the buzzer, completing a stunning turnaround for the Cyclones.
Nekia Jones had 15 points for the Longhorns, who lost despite outrebounding Iowa State 49-36.
After a surprisingly narrow win over West Virginia in Austin, Texas looked primed to be upset. Instead, the Longhorns had the Cyclones on their heels early.
The Longhorns buried their first four 3s — including three by Sanders in just 3:20 — and took their first double-digit lead, 25-14, with 9:08 left.
Iowa State appeared to be finished late in the first half, especially considering that it blew a 24-point lead of its own in an 86-84 loss at TCU on Wednesday. But the Cyclones responded with 14 unanswered points to make a game of it.
The Longhorns hit 7 of 11 3s in the first half despite ranking last in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage. Their luck dried up in the second half, as did their best start since 1986.
TIP-INS
Texas: Sanders and Jones were just 8 of 40 on 3s in their first 13 games. But they combined to shoot 6 of 7 in the first half alone.
Iowa State: The Cyclones celebrated coach Bill Fennelly’s 20th season on Saturday, with nearly 20 former players in attendance.
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