Iowa State Cyclones guard Hannah Belanger (13) lays up the ball around BYU Cougars guard Kailey Woolston (10) during the first quarter of a NCAA women’s basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Feb. 24 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
AMES, Iowa – Addy Brown got the ball off of the tipoff, looked to the post and found Audi Crooks for a bucket 12 seconds into Iowa State’s 74-49 win over BYU Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.
Within the first 70 seconds of the game, the Cyclones held a 7-0 lead, and they didn’t look back from there – completing a 2-0 week that was integral for the team’s chances at landing in the NCAA Tournament.
“The specific message was, ‘we’ve got four games left, we’re playing games that really matter,'” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. “‘There’s a lot of teams across the country that are playing because they have to. So now, it’s two at home and two on the road – what’s in front of you and what are you going to do about it?'”
The Cyclones were expected to be favored in three of their last four games, and had a goal of winning at least three to set themselves up for a spot in the big dance.
Nothing’s a certainty, of course, but with Saturday’s win, the team progresses with momentum from its most complete game of the season and is one win away from matching last year’s squad’s 11-win total in Big 12 play.
“I think the biggest thing today was it was as good as we had done in regards to what we call playing scouting report defense,” Fennelly said. “We wanted to chase the shooters off of the 3-point line. We wanted to make (Amari Whiting) shoot the ball a little bit and double-team her a little bit. Gustin is as advertised – the goal was to to make her shoot tough shots – she went 10-20.”
The Cyclones attacked BYU, holding the Cougars’ top 3-point shooters to four attempts or less from beyond the arc.
Emily Ryan led the way with 22 points, the most she’s scored in a game since the 2022 Sweet 16 loss to Creighton.
Crooks took home 18 points and nine rebounds while Hannah Belanger netted her season-high 17 points.
The performance led to a 25-point victory in their penultimate game at Hilton Coliseum for the year.
With the win, Iowa State clinches a first round bye in next month’s Big 12 tournament, and will be no worse than the No. 7 seed going into Kansas City.
“I think coach (Fennelly) made it pretty clear – we (had to) win three of the last four in order to put ourselves in a good position,” Belanger said. “Understanding what’s at risk was big for us and (getting) these two wins gives us a lot of momentum going into next week.”
Iowa State will return to the court Wednesday for its final, regular season road trip of the year to take on No. 10 Kansas State in Manhattan.
Big 12 WBB Standings
After Feb. 24
1. Oklahoma 14-2
2. Texas 13-3
3. Kansas State 12-3
4. West Virginia 11-5
5. Iowa State 10-6
5. Baylor 10-6
7. Kansas 8-7
8. Oklahoma State 6-10
9. BYU 5-11
9. Cincinnati 5-11
9. Texas Tech 5-11
9. TCU 5-11
13. Houston 4-12
14. UCF 3-13
