AMES, Iowa (Interstat) — Tjasa Turnsek scored 20 points and Mya Babbitt added 18 as Iowa State defeated Eastern Illinois 77-61 on Sunday in a women’s NCAA Division I basketball game at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones improved to 3-0, while the Panthers fell to 0-3 before an announced attendance of 8,895.

Iowa State, which had previous wins over Grambling and Nicholls State, used a balanced scoring effort and a decisive second-half stretch to hold off Eastern Illinois. Eastern Illinois, which had lost at Drake and at Iowa, stayed close early behind Clara Glad and Nevaeh Dickman but could not overcome 18 turnovers. The Cyclones committed seven turnovers and turned the Panthers’ mistakes into 15 points. Eastern Illinois scored six points off turnovers. Iowa State outscored Eastern Illinois 38-16 in the paint.

Turnsek, a 6-foot-2 forward from Rogaska Slatina, Slovenia, who previously played at International School, finished with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and one block in 29 minutes. Babbitt, a 5-foot-8 guard who previously played at Millard South, had 18 points and two rebounds in 25 minutes. Xiao Zhang, a 6-foot-6 center who previously played at International School, added 14 points, three rebounds, one assist and one block in 12 minutes. Gift Ezekiel, a 6-foot-1 forward, contributed 12 points, two rebounds and one assist in 13 minutes. Alex-Anne Bessette, a 6-foot-2 guard from Ontario Schools, had seven points, three rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes. Sienna Harvey, a 5-foot-10 guard from Lake Ginninderra College, had two points, three rebounds and nine assists in 28 minutes.

Eastern Illinois was led by Nevaeh Dickman, a 6-foot forward from Fishers High School, who had 13 points, five rebounds and four assists in 39 minutes. Clara Glad, a 6-foot guard from Rogers HS, finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes. Janyah Bohanon, a 6-foot guard from Warrensville, added nine points, three rebounds and one block in 26 minutes. Abbie Boutilier, a 6-foot-10 center from Flower Mound, had six points, eight rebounds, one assist and three blocks in 23 minutes.

The Panthers shot 22 of 45 from the floor, 5 of 10 from 3-point range and 12 of 13 from the free-throw line. Iowa State shot 29 of 59 from the field, 5 of 18 from beyond the arc and 14 of 20 from the line. Eastern Illinois had three offensive rebounds, two assists and five blocks. Iowa State had six offensive rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.

The game opened with Eastern Illinois’ Glad hitting a 3-pointer, but Iowa State answered inside through Xiao Zhang and Alex-Anne Bessette. Xiao Zhang made two early jump shots, Bessette made a layup, and Tjasa Turnsek added a jump shot as the Cyclones moved in front. Eastern Illinois stayed close with a hook shot from Abbie Boutilier, a jumper from Janyah Bohanon and a jumper from Meioshe Mason. Glad made two free throws, and Mason made two more late in the first quarter to give the Panthers a one-point edge after the opening period. Boutilier also made a layup late in the first quarter, and Arianna Jackson made a 3-pointer and a free throw for Iowa State. Bohanon added two jumpers in the period.

Iowa State tied the game early in the second quarter when Gift Ezekiel made a free throw, but Eastern Illinois answered with back-to-back layups from Nevaeh Dickman. Turnsek made two free throws, Bessette made two free throws and a layup, and Babbitt hit a 3-pointer as Iowa State regained the lead. Glad made a 3-pointer for Eastern Illinois, and Nyah Hardy made a 3-pointer with 1:39 remaining in the half to put the Panthers ahead 31-29. Iowa State closed the half with four straight points. Sienna Harvey made a jumper with 1:21 remaining, and Xiao Zhang made a jump shot with two seconds left to give the Cyclones a 33-31 halftime lead.

Iowa State created separation in the third quarter. Turnsek opened the scoring with a layup, Xiao Zhang followed with a layup and later added two more jumpers, and the Cyclones pushed their advantage to 55-44 after Babbitt made a 3-pointer with 52.9 seconds left in the quarter. Eastern Illinois’ Nyah Hardy answered with a jumper before the quarter ended, but the Panthers still trailed by 11 entering the fourth.

The most important stretch came after Eastern Illinois trimmed the margin to six early in the fourth. Bohanon converted a pullup jumper and free throw to make it 55-49 with 8:23 remaining, but Babbitt responded with a 3-pointer for Iowa State. Turnsek then made a jump shot, and after Ava Stoller scored for Eastern Illinois, Turnsek converted a layup and free throw to push the lead to 63-51. Gift Ezekiel made four free throws, and Babbitt hit another 3-pointer with 4:13 left to make it 70-55.

Eastern Illinois did not go away. Clara Glad made a 3-pointer, and Nyah Hardy made another 3-pointer with 2:56 remaining to cut the deficit to 70-61. Iowa State closed the game with seven unanswered points. Turnsek made a layup and free throw with 1:54 left, added another layup with 1:26 remaining, and Babbitt finished the scoring with a layup with 44.5 seconds left.

Eastern Illinois finished with 61 points on 66 possessions and an offensive rating of 92.2. Iowa State scored 77 points on 70 possessions with an offensive rating of 110.8. The Cyclones scored 38 points in the paint and 15 off turnovers, while the Panthers had 16 in the paint and six off turnovers. Turnsek led all scorers with 20 points, and Babbitt added 18. Harvey had nine assists for Iowa State, while Dickman had four assists for Eastern Illinois. Boutilier blocked three shots for the Panthers.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected Iowa State to win 73-54, and its ELO system had projected Iowa State with a 99.7 percent probability to win.