The Iowa State women's basketball team's NCAA-record streak of 945 consecutive games with a 3-pointer ended Tuesday night in a 71-58 victory over Big 12 opponent Texas Tech.
The Cyclones had made at least one 3-pointer in every game dating to Feb. 19, 1995, at Colorado, when the school was still part of the Big Eight.
Coach Bill Fennelly took over the next season, and his Iowa State teams have always made at least one 3-pointer in every game he'd coached until Tuesday. The Cyclones attempted just seven 3-pointers against the Red Raiders and missed all of them, marking the first time in nearly 30 years they didn't hit a shot from behind the arc.
"We only shot seven of them, so we really didn't care," Fennelly said. "If we were really worried about (the record), we probably would have run about 15 more plays to get one. I get it's a big deal to some people, and it's a big deal to us. I'm proud the streak was there. But it's just like a kid getting a triple-double; I'm not leaving them in the game just to get stats. We ran two plays to get a 3, and both were in the first half."
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga now has the longest active streak in NCAA Division I women's basketball with 791 straight games, according to UTC. Two-time reigning Southern Conference champion UTC (6-9, 1-1) will get the chance to extend its 3-point run when Samford (5-12, 0-1) visits McKenzie Arena at 6 p.m. Thursday to face the Mocs.
The active leader on the men's side was UNLV at 1,243 games entering Wednesday, with Duke one game behind the Runnin' Rebels.
As for Iowa State and the end of its streak, the inside game featuring star center Audi Crooks and forward Addy Brown was working well against Texas Tech. The pair was 19-for-31 from the field and combined for 49 of the Cyclones' 71 points.
"Sorry, but also not," Crooks said after the game. "The streak is cool. But at the same time, we're able to win basketball games by scoring only in the paint and from the free-throw line. I also do understand the tradition and the value in the streak, so we do apologize. But the paint was working tonight."
During their incredible run, the Cyclones made 7,666 3-pointers and hit more than 200 3s in 21 straight seasons. They hit more 10 3s in a game 289 times.
The Cyclones (13-6, 4-2) have made 151 3-pointers this season, and they can take the first step toward a new streak when they visit No. 20 West Virginia (14-3, 4-2) on Sunday afternoon.