March Madness 2022: Iowa State rolls into Sweet 16 with win over Georgia

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Lexi Donarski scored 20 points and third-seeded Iowa State raced to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2010 with a 67-44 win over sixth-seeded Georgia on Sunday night.

Emily Ryan had 15 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the Cyclones (28-6), and Ashley Joens added 12 points and grabbed ten rebounds.

"Sometimes in life you earn things, and you get it," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. "Well, this group earned it. They got it and it's pretty damn sweet."

Jenna Staiti led Georgia (21-10) with 16 points and nine rebounds. The Bulldogs shot 30.6% from the floor and never had a lead.

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Iowa State guard Lexi Donarski (21) drives past Georgia guard Que Morrison (23) during the first half of a second-round game in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 20, 2022, in Ames, Iowa.  (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

"Georgia is a really talented team and so it all started with defense," Donarski said. "We had to set the tone, especially defensively really early, and that just pushed us forward on offense."

Iowa State opened the game with an 11-0 run, capped by a jumper from Joens. Ryan, who made four of her first five shots, hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Cyclones a 17-7 advantage. A 3 from Joens pushed the margin to 21-7.

"We knew coming out strong tonight was huge for us, don't let them get any momentum," Ryan said. "I thought we did a good job of not letting them go on any big runs."

Georgia shot just 3 of 16 in the first quarter and 8 of 31 in the first half (26%). It also committed eight turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

Iowa State finished with a 45-38