Of all the strides Kathy McConnell-Miller has made in rebuilding the Colorado women's basketball team the past three years, one step remains.

The Buffs once again are competitive in the Big 12, but on Sunday they learned they still lack a killer instinct.

Colorado let slip away a 12-point lead in the second half and a five-point lead to start the second overtime as Iowa State wouldn't stop hitting its trademark 3-point shots and outlasted the Buffs 84-77 in the program's first double-overtime game played in the Coors Events Center.

The No. 23 Buffs saw their 11-game win streak snapped and, more importantly, lost an opportunity to keep pace with the four other undefeated teams in the conference: Baylor, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Nebraska.

"The Big 12 is wide open this year," said CU senior Jackie McFarland, who led all scorers with a season-high 28 points. "This one really hurts."

Colorado (12-3, 1-1) heldIowa State (12-3, 1-1) without a 3-pointer for nearly the first nine minutes of the second half in building a 50-38 lead.

McConnell-Miller said CU's game plan in the second half was to force Iowa State to put the ball on the floor and go inside rather than let the Cyclones sit around the perimeter and take 3-point shots.

The Buffs followed the plan, at first.

But the Cyclones uncorked 19 shots from 3-point range in the last 11 minutes of regulation and in the two overtimes. They made nine of them.

None were bigger than sophomore Alison Lacey's consecutive 3-pointers with less than two minutes remaining in the second overtime that gave Iowa State the lead for good and the Cyclones their first double-overtime win in program history.

"They hit one, and then another, and then another," McFarland said. "It was a mental breakdown on our part. Everyone in the country knows Iowa State is a 3-point shooting team."

All this came after CU had to fight back from trailing by three late in regulation to send the game into overtime. The Buffs also overcame a four-point deficit with 55 seconds left in the first overtime to continue the contest for another five minutes.

"We had the game won four or five times," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. "We probably lost it as many times. (Eventually) we played like Iowa State is supposed to play."

The Buffs were out-rebounded (43-35) for the second consecutive game after never being out-rebounded in nonconference play this season. Plus, the Cyclones grabbed 18 offensive boards to outscore CU 17-12 on second-chance points.

In addition to her 28 points, McFarland pulled down eight rebounds and had a season-high six blocked shots. Freshman Brittany Spears added 21 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals. The team's best 3-point threat, sophomore Bianca Smith, was held to three treys en route to 11 points.

Lacey's 27 points paced Iowa State and she also had eight assists against one turnover. Freshman Kelsey Bolte came off the bench to score 21 points and junior Nicky Wieben notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

"The issue with this loss was that it was a Big 12 home loss that you felt like you could win," McConnell-Miller said. "Our team has never been in this type of game all year. This was a different type of game for them. ... This is one we let go."

Iowa State 84, CU 77 IOWA ST.

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PT

Wieben 47 6-16 2-2 7-11 1 4 14

Nisleit 46 2-8 2-2 3-5 2 3 7

Lacey 47 8-18 4-4 1-6 8 2 27

Stuckey 23 0-4 1-1 2-6 3 4 1

Ezell 40 3-8 2-2 1-4 4 1 11

Bolte 34 8-13 2-3 1-5 2 2 21

Andersn 13 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 1 3

Totals 250 28-69 14-16 18-43 20 17 84

Percentages: FG .406, FT .875.

3-Point Goals: 14-27, .519 (Lacey 7-11, Bolte 3-4, Ezell 3-6, Nisleit 1-5, Wieben 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 6.

Blocked Shots: 4 (Anderson 2, Ezell, Wieben).

Turnovers: 17 (Bolte 5, Nisleit 4, Wieben 3, Stuckey 2, Anderson, Ezell, Lacey).

Steals: 7 (Ezell 3, Stuckey, Bolte, Wieben, Lacey).

Technical Fouls: None.

COLORADO

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PT

Putnina 39 3-10 2-2 4-9 1 0 8

McFrlnd 48 8-14 11-13 4-8 4 3 28

Skildum 17 0-2 0-0 1-1 1 1 0

Powers 48 2-6 0-0 0-4 3 4 5

Spears 45 8-15 4-5 1-7 0 2 21

Smith 38 4-13 0-0 2-3 2 2 11

Blythe 2 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0

Richrds 13 2-3 0-0 0-0 2 3 4

Totals 250 27-63 17-20 12-35 13 15 77

Percentages: FG .429, FT .850.

3-Point Goals: 6-17, .353 (Smith 3-7, McFarland 1-2, Spears 1-2, Powers 1-4, Skildum 0-1, Putnina 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 2.

Blocked Shots: 12 (McFarland 6, Spears 3, Putnina 3).

Turnovers: 16 (McFarland 4, Powers 4, Spears 3, Putnina 2, Skildum, Richards, Smith).

Steals: 9 (Spears 3, Smith 2, Powers 2, Richards 2).

Technical Fouls: None.

Iowa St. 32 29 8 15--84

Colorado 30 31 8 8--77

A--4,165.

Officials--Charles Gonzalez, Michol Murray, Luis Gonzalez.