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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa's Whitney Jennings made two key defensive stops in the last minute.
Then the freshman calmly knocked down the game-clinching free throws.
Ally Disterhoft scored 16 points and Jennings forced two steals and made three foul shots in the final 39 seconds to lead the No. 24 Hawkeyes to a 76-67 win over rival Iowa State on Thursday night.
The home team has won 13 of the last 14 meetings in the series.
"I was just trying to get my hand on the ball," said Jennings, who scored 15 points. "I didn't want them to put up a 3 or get to the rim. I was trying to get my hand on the ball and knock it loose."
Kali Peschel added 13 points on a career-best three 3-pointers off the bench for the Hawkeyes (8-2).
Jadda Buckley scored 25 points for the Cyclones (5-2), who made only two field goals in the final 7½ minutes.
Iowa led almost the entire game, but Iowa State stayed close until the final minute.
Buckley's 3-pointer with 54 seconds left cut Iowa's lead to 71-67.
But the Hawkeyes made 5 of 7 free throws and forced three turnovers to close out the game — including the two steals from Jennings. Iowa State had only one shot attempt after Buckley's 3.
The Cyclones' only lead came during a 20-second stint in the first half, but they never fell behind by more than 10 points.
Every time Iowa State looked like it might get over the hump, the Hawkeyes answered with a big 3-pointer.
Alexa Kastanek hit a 3 with just under 10 minutes left to push Iowa's lead from six to nine. A Peschel 3-pointer with 6:50 remaining gave Iowa a 67-60 lead.
"They hit some big, big shots when they had to," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. "They hit them and we didn't."
Iowa State grabbed 16 offensive rebounds — including nine in the game's first nine minutes — but they struggled to convert. The Cyclones managed only seven second-chance points. Iowa State had only three offensive boards in the second half.
Iowa's Samantha Logic had seven points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Iowa State's Nikki Moody fouled out with 12 points. Seanna Johnson had six points and 12 rebounds.
TIP-INS
Iowa State: The Cyclones had a season-low nine assists. Iowa State entered Thursday's game ranked first in the country with a 1.97 assist-turnover ratio. The Cyclones had 14 turnovers for their first negative assist-turnover ratio of the season.
Iowa: Ally Disterhoft has scored in double figures in 24 of her 27 career starts. The sophomore hit 6 of 10 field goals and 2 of 4 from 3-point range in a team-high 36 minutes.
COURTSIDE
Iowa men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery sat four rows behind the Hawkeyes bench. McCaffery stayed for the entire game, sitting with assistant coach Kirk Speraw in the first half. McCaffery's team hosts No. 14 Iowa State on Friday.
STAT LINES
Both these teams love to shoot from distance. Iowa State ranks fourth nationally in 3-pointers made, while Iowa ranks ninth nationally in 3-point percentage. The Hawkeyes made 10 of 25 3s. The Cyclone shot 8 of 29 from deep.
UP NEXT
Iowa State is host to Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sunday.
Iowa travels to Drake on Dec. 21.
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