Iowa State Cyclones’ center Audi Crooks (55) shoots the ball as Utah Utes forward Mayè Tourè (21) and guard Matyson Wilke (23) defend during the second quarter in the NCAA women’s basketball home opening at Hilton Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
AMES — Iowa State star center Audi Crooks eclipsed the 1,000 career points mark against Utah — and the Cyclones needed every single basket she delivered on Sunday.
The 6-3 sophomore scored 27 points in the tense matchup with the Utes, but outside of senior guard Emily Ryan’s production, she had little help offensively as ISU fell, 75-67, before a crowd of 9,251 at Hilton Coliseum.
“It can’t just be one, or two or three people scoring all the points,” Crooks said of head coach Bill Fennelly’s message to the team. “We can’t expect to win like that.”
Ryan added 18 points for the Cyclones (10-6, 1-2 Big 12), and sophomore forward Addy Brown chipped in 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the loss. Ryan drained three of her five 3-point attempts, but the rest of the team went just 2-for-15 from beyond the arc. Utah (12-2, 3-0) drilled 13 of its 26 3-point attempts — and senior transfer forward Maye Toure made 4 of 6 after hitting just eight all season. She led the Utes with 24 points — 11 above her per-game average. Her fourth 3-pointer with 2:38 left gave Utah a 67-61 lead and the Cyclones couldn’t inch back into the game after that.
“We just didn’t expect that and anticipate that, and I think that ended up hurting us,” said Crooks, who now has 1,006 career points. “That’s to her credit. She’s a really versatile player.”
ISU’s long-range shooting woes continue to baffle Fennelly, who has spent extra time with his players pointing out that their past numbers show they’re capable contributors on the perimeter. He cyclone through various lineups down the stretch on Sunday, but outside of his big three, couldn’t find answers on that end — so that’s an ongoing mission as this week’s road trip through the league’s Arizona schools hits on Wednesday and Saturday.
“I mean, hope is not a strategy,” said Fennelly, whose team is tied for eighth in the Big 12 in 3-point accuracy at 33.9 percent. “We have kids whose field goal percentage is so low and you look at what they’ve done in the past, and it’s like you wouldn’t even think it’s the same person. So that’s what we keep grinding through and hopefully we can do that because what we’re gonna see defensively is not different. Audi’s gonna get double-teamed like she did tonight. … (And) when you kick it, you’ve got to make people pay. And that’s where we’ve not been able to do it on a consistent basis.”
Utah sliced through the Cyclones’ defense with ease early, sinking its first seven shots while building a 21-10 lead.
But ISU’s defense tightened up as Crooks took over. Her seven consecutive points and guard Arianna Jackson’s driving layup gave the Cyclones a 9-0 run that allowed them to pull within two, at 23-21, less than one minute into the second quarter.
The game remained close the rest of the first half, as the Utes endured a 4-for-19 shooting stretch and Ryan sank two 3-pointers to tie the game, 29-29, with 4:19 left in the second quarter. Utah took a 34-33 lead into the other break — and neither team would build a two-possession lead until Toure drove past Crooks for a layup to give her team a 49-44 lead late in the third quarter. Utah maintained that two-possession cushion until Cyclone freshman guard Aili Tanke drained a corner 3-pointer at the buzzer to make the score, 52-49, at the end of the third quarter.
The Cyclones will try to get back on track on the road at Arizona State on Wednesday, and at Arizona on Saturday.
“We work hard at it,” Brown said of 3-point shooting. “We shoot them every day in practice a lot, so we know it’s gonna fall. It’s just a matter of time. We’ve just got to stay confident and just keep working hard.”
