Iowa State freshman center Audi Crooks (55) yells out after scoring against Kansas in the second half of the game Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, inside Allen Fieldhouse. © Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
The following is a news release courtesy of Iowa State Athletics Communications:
MORGANTOWN, West Virginia – Iowa State (12-7, 6-3 Big 12) fell to No. 24 West Virginia (17-2, 6-2) on the road Saturday afternoon, 84-78. The physical contest was played tight all the way to the final buzzer, featuring nine lead changes and nine ties.
It was a tight matchup throughout, with just nine points being the largest lead of the game. Iowa State held a five-point lead midway through the third quarter, but the Mountaineers rallied to close the quarter on a 12-5 run. Audi Crooks had a career night, tallying 25 points for her eighth 20-point game and a career-high 16 rebounds for her fourth double-double.
Jalynn Bristow earned her first start, finishing with 12 points and five rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the floor. Nyamer Diew had a perfect shooting day, going 2-of-2 from the floor and making all four attempts from the line for nine points.
How It Happened
Bristow scored the first points of the game with a putback off a 3-point miss, but WVU answered with four points to take its first lead. An Emily Ryan 3-pointer and Crooks’ first basket of the afternoon put the Cyclones ahead, 7-4, within the first three minutes of play. After trading baskets again, ISU scored back-to-back layups from Isnelle Natabou and Kelsey Joens to hold a 14-9 lead with 4:06 left in the opening frame. But the Mountaineers countered with a 7-0 run of their own, including a last-second 3-pointer to hold a 16-14 advantage heading into the second quarter.
Crooks had the hot hand in the second frame, scoring each of Iowa State’s first three baskets to start the period. With two Ryan free throws and an Arianna Jackson 3-pointer, the Cyclones tied the game at 25-25 with 5:39 left in the half. With an Addy Brown 3-pointer and a Bristow layup, ISU took the 30-28 lead. Hannah Belanger and Bristow each hit buckets from deep on back-to-back possessions to hold the 33-30 lead with two minutes to play. Trading free throws and 3-pointers for the remainder of the half, Iowa State held a 40-38 lead going into the break.
The Cyclones held a slight advantage for the majority of the third quarter before West Virginia used a 10-0 run late in the period to lead 63-58 with 10 minutes to play. Crooks scored six points from the line while Kelsey Joens knocked down a 3-pointer as part of a 6-0 ISU run midway through the period.
West Virginia extended its lead to as many as nine points in the fourth quarter, but Iowa State rallied behind another Brown 3-pointer layup along with a Belanger score to cut the deficit to two points. Diew made four free throw attempts, broken up by a WVU triple, to keep it a one possession game with just under two minutes to play. But the Mountaineers closed the game on a 5-2 run to keep Iowa State from completing the sweep.
Top Performances
Audi Crooks scored a team-high 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting and going 9-of-11 at the free throw line. Nyamer Diew came off the bench to score nine points on a perfect shooting day. Diew was 2-of-2 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Notes
- Iowa State women’s basketball’s all-time record 839-661 (.560) and 326-349 (.484) all-time in conference games.
- Head coach Bill Fennelly’s career record 768-361 (.681). His Iowa State record 602-308 (.663) overall.
- Iowa State’s all-time record against West Virginia 13-13 and 3-9 in Morgantown.
- With Emily Ryan’s 3-pointer in the first quarter, Iowa State has now recorded a triple in an NCAA women’s basketball record 913 consecutive games.
- ISU has outrebounded every opponent this season, grabbing 36 boards tonight compared to West Virginia’s 27.
- Audi Crooks recorded her eighth career 20-point game with a career-high-tying 25 points. Crooks has now scored 331 career points.
- Crooks also posted her fourth career double-double with a career-high 16 rebounds.
- With eight field goals tonight, Crooks has made 130 field goals this season. Crooks is nearing the top 5 for field goals by a freshman in a season, the fifth-best mark is Angie Welle’s 134 makes in 1998-99.
- Passing out four assists tonight, Emily Ryan has recorded 658 assists throughout her career. The mark is third most in Iowa State program history.
- With one steal tonight, Ryan also recorded her 150th career steal.
- Addy Brown tallied three assists tonight and owns the fifth-best single-season assists mark by a freshman with 99.
Up Next
Iowa State returns home for the first time in over two weeks to take on Oklahoma State on Wednesday night. Tipoff in Hilton Coliseum is set for 6:30 p.m.
