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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — When Iowa State found itself down again to Texas, the Cyclones weren't worried.
For the second time this season, they rallied for a 58-57 victory over the No. 8 Longhorns on Sunday. Senior guard Nikki Moody made two free throws with 17.5 second remaining for the margin of victory.
Texas freshman Brooke McCarty then missed a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining and the Longhorns lost for the fourth time in five games.
"There wasn't any panic," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said.
Fennelly had seen his team rally from an 18-point deficit against the Longhorns on Jan. 10 to hand Texas its first loss of the season on Jan. 10.
In this game, Moody led Iowa State (14-4, 5-2 Big 12) with 14 points while Seanna Johnson added 13.
Kelsey Lang led Texas (14-4, 3-4) with 12 points, but she attempted only one shot in the second half while surrounded by defenders.
Texas took a 54-52 lead with 2:15 remaining on a 3-point basket by freshman McCarty. Lang, swarmed by defenders inside, passed the ball out to McCarty.
After a missed jump shot by Moody, Texas forward Nekia Jones converted a three-point play with 55 seconds left.
Bryanna Fernstrom made a layup for Iowa State that left the Cyclones trailing by a point with 34 seconds left. Then Moody hit her two free throws.
Iowa State trailed by nine with a little more than 13 minutes remaining. The Cyclones needed seven minutes to overtake Texas. The lead changed hands four times during the final six minutes.
Texas committed nine turnovers in the second half, including one by Brianna Taylor that gave Iowa State the possession on which Moody created the decisive lead change.
But the Longhorns' biggest problem might have been a penchant for fouling.
Texas committed 15 fouls in the second half. Iowa State was in the bonus shooting free throws with 12:21 remaining. The Cyclones converted 11 of 16 free throws in the half, sub-par for a team that leads the nation in accuracy but sufficient against Texas.
"We were trying to attack," Moody said. "We were in the bonus and we can make free throws."
Texas coach Karen Aston said her team created a problem it failed to overcome.
"We lost by not having enough discipline to defend without fouling," Aston said. "Then when we got in the bonus we got tentative defensively."
TIP-INS
Texas: In the earlier loss, the Longhorns missed 10 straight shots during a drought that allowed Iowa State to get back in the game.
Iowa State: The Cyclones lead the nation in free-throw accuracy — 78.8 percent before Sunday — for the third straight season. No NCAA team in men's or women's basketball has led the nation for three straight full seasons. . Iowa State extended its streak of games with a 3-point basket to 630, longest in the nation.
UP NEXT
Texas hosts Oklahoma on Thursday.
Iowa State hosts Kansas on Wednesday.
FINAL NUMBERS
Texas played its first full game without forward Nneka Enemkpali, a senior who suffered a season-ending knee injury during the first half of a loss at Baylor on Monday. Enemkpali was leading Texas in scoring and the Big 12 in rebounding. She finished her career ranked ninth in rebounds (899) and 30th in scoring (1,116) at Texas.
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