FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Nicole Blaskowsky came off the Iowa State bench to pump in 24 points and spark the undefeated, 14th-ranked Cyclones to a 71-49 win over Texas Christian in a Big 12 Conference opener Thursday Night. Iowa State built an eight-point lead in the first half, then put the defensive clamps on the Horned Frogs over the final 20 minutes, holding them to just 19 second-half points to earn its 12th win to start the season, matching a school record.

Blaskowsky was 8-of-16 from the field and drilled 7 of 15 3-point attempts. Nikki Moody added 13 points, Seanna Johnson 12 and Halle Christofferson 10 for Iowa State (12-0, 1-0 Big 12). The Cyclones now are 4-1 all-time against the Horned Frogs and 9-9 in conference openers.

Zahna Medley scored 22 points on 7-for-16 shooting to lead TCU (9-4, 0-1), which lost at home for the first time this season.

w/ Jim Field

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources says  the state’s pheasant, late muzzleloader and archery deer, and archery fall turkey seasons close on Jan. 10th. The January antlerless deer season is Jan. 11th through the 19th, in select counties. Furbearer seasons, squirrel, quail, partridge and grouse remain open until Jan. 31st. Rabbit season is open until Feb. 28th. Crow season is Jan. 14th to March 31st. Beaver trapping season closes on April 15th.

For waterfowl, the north zone Canada goose season closes Jan. 3rd, and the light goose season closes on Jan. 12th. The south zone for Canada goose season closes Jan. 10th and the light goose season closes Jan. 17th. The Missouri River zone Canada goose season and light goose season both close on Jan. 17th.

The light goose conservation order season is open Jan. 18th to April 15th statewide; additional regulations apply. Don’t forget, all 2013 Iowa hunting and fishing licenses expire on Jan. 10th, 2014. All hunters and anglers will need a 2014 license to hunt or fish beginning Jan. 11th.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe has been cleared to play in Saturday’s wild-card playoff game against Indianapolis after sustaining a concussion against the Colts two weeks ago. Bowe was among several starters held out of last week’s overtime loss at San Diego. Kansas City could be without right tackle Eric Fisher, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft. He strained his groin near the end of Tuesday’s practice and was not working Wednesday.

Outside linebacker Tamba Hali’s status also remains up in the air. He’s been dealing with some inflammation in his knee that has kept him out of practice the last couple of weeks, though he planned to try working out during Wednesday’s practice.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — On at least three occasions this season, an opposing coach was asked what it takes to stop Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles. Each time, they came back with the exact same response. “If you’ve got the answer,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said, “I’m all ears.”

That was before Kansas City played Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago at Arrowhead Stadium, and the Colts didn’t need to do much to stop Charles in a 23-7 victory. The Chiefs only gave him six touches in the second half, something coach Andy Reid lamented following the game.

It stands to reason that Kansas City will at least make the Colts do the job themselves when the teams meet in a wild-card playoff game Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Pagano calls Charles a “game wrecker” and a “home-run hitter.”

Two years after a devastating knee injury threatened his career, and one year after he was the lone bright spot in a blighted season, Charles has put together one of the finest campaigns in the history of a franchise that has had plenty of notable offensive stars.

He’s already run for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns, solid if unspectacular numbers unless you consider that he’s done it while averaging 5 yards per carry. He also has a career-best 70 catches for 693 yards and seven more touchdowns, giving him nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Seth Tuttle scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Northern Iowa to an 80-46 victory over Bradley on Wednesday night. Matt Bohannon had 16 points and three assists for the Panthers (7-6). Wes Washpun added 15 with eight assists and a pair of steals and Jeremy Morgan came off the bench to score 10.

Northern Iowa surged to a 14-0 advantage early in the first period and went on to lead 43-26 at the break. A pair of 3-pointers by Bohannon and two buckets from inside the paint by Tuttle to start the second half extended the Panther lead to 26. Northern Iowa would finish the game hitting 48 percent from the field and sinking 84.2 percent from the line.

Bradley averaged just 37 percent from the field overall and suffered 13 turnovers in the contest. Walt Lemon, Jr. led the Braves (5-9) with 17 points.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Jordan Daniels scored 28 points with three assists as Drake defeated Evansville 94-66 on Wednesday night. Richard Carter put up 19 points and grabbed four rebounds for the Bulldogs (10-3). Chris Caird had 10 points and Aaron Hawley came off the bench to score 12. Drake hit 61 percent from the field overall, 65.5 percent from the line and sank 65.5 percent from 3-point range. A Daniels 3-pointer at 16:25 in the first capped a 12-2 Bulldog run to start the game.

Evansville’s D.J. Balentine scored nine points in the final minute of the first period, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer, to cut the Aces’ deficit to four points at the break. The Bulldogs completely dominated the second period, leading by as many as 30 points with a minute left to play.

Balentine led the Aces (7-7) with 20 points.

AMES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa State will hold a public visitation to honor legendary former basketball coach Johnny Orr, who died Tuesday at age 86.  The doors to Hilton Coliseum in Ames will open at 1 p.m. Thursday for the visitation. The Orr family will be present from 4 p.m. until Hilton closes at 8 p.m.  It is the arena where Orr was known for entering to the “Tonight Show” theme and a trademark fist pump, helping cultivate a tremendous home-court advantage for the Cyclones.

Orr led the Cyclones to a school-record 218 wins from 1980 until 1994. He previously spent 12 years as head coach at Michigan and three at Massachusetts.  The energetic and charismatic Orr finished with a career record of 466-346 and 10 NCAA tournament appearances.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jeremy Hill rushed for 216 yards and two touchdowns, helping No. 14 LSU and inexperienced quarterback Anthony Jennings hold off Iowa 21-14 in the Outback Bowl on Wednesday. Craig Loston’s interception stopped a potential game-tying drive, giving Hill a chance to put the game out of reach by carrying four times for 87 yards on a six-play, 92 yard march that gave the Tigers (10-3) a 21-7 lead.

Iowa (8-5) again pulled within a touchdown after Jordan Cotton returned the ensuing kickoff to the Tigers’ 4. Jennings rushed for a touchdown but only threw for 82 yards while standing in for the injured Zach Mettenberger in the freshman’s first college start.

Backup quarterback C.J. Beathard ‘s fourth-down interception stopped one promising drive for Iowa, but he also tossed a 4-yard TD pass to Kevonte Martin-Manley to trim the Hawkeyes’ deficit to 21-14 with 1:42 remaining.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — More than a year after its completion, several companies who helped build the University of Iowa’s new indoor football practice facility say they’re still owed money for their work. Four subcontractors have filed claims in state court in recent weeks alleging the project’s general manager, the Samuels Group, Inc. of Wausau, Wis., owes them a total of more than $1.5 million.

In a separate federal lawsuit, the Samuels Group argues that it should not have to pay some of the companies because they delivered and installed metal panels that did not initially meet specifications. State and federal judges are expected to sort out the claims in the coming months.

The new practice facility has been praised by the football team, which was competing in the Outback Bowl on Wednesday.