Mar 7, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones center Audi Crooks (55) shoots the ball against the Baylor Lady Bears in the second half at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Amy Kontras-Imagn Images
SOUTH BEND – For 64 teams, the NCAA women’s basketball tournament kicks off Friday morning.
But Iowa State will have to prove that it belongs in it when it takes on No. 11 Princeton Wednesday (6 p.m. ESPNU) in the Purcell Pavilion at Notre Dame.
“It definitely feels good when you’re able to contribute in a significant way, especially at the Big 12 Tournament and heading into the postseason,” forward Audi Crooks said. “It just kind of gives you a little bit more motivation – a little bit of a bigger chip on your shoulder – to prove the point that you are an elite scorer, that we are an elite team, and that we belong in this tournament.”
Crooks is coming off a 32-point performance in Iowa State’s most recent game – a Big 12 quarterfinal loss to Baylor. Her teammate Addy Brown preceded it with a 41-point game in the team’s second round win over Arizona State.
Both players, as well as the rest of the team, are trying to prove that’s a sign of things to come, and not a pair of one-off performances.
“I just think that we have a lot to prove and that sometimes we fly a little bit under the radar,” Crooks said. “We played, probably the toughest schedule in the country, and our record reflects that – and I think that that kind of allowed people to write us off a little bit. I just think that we’re not a team to be messed with and that we need to be taken seriously.
“That’s just kind of the chip on the shoulders – to show that and to prove that, individually and collectively,” Crooks said.
That will be against a Princeton squad led by a pair of sophomore guards in Skye Belker (13.1 points per game) and Ashley Chea (12.5), who both average in double figures for the Tigers.
The duo is complimented by Fadima Tall, a 6-foot-0 forward that nets 10.3 points, and a team-high, 6.3 rebounds per game.
Like Iowa State, a majority of the production comes from three of its starters – however, the two teams play unique styles to one another.
“I think the biggest thing for us is their balance – offense and defense – they don’t have anything that jumps off the page,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. “All of their numbers are really good, and they’d probably be even better, if they played at a little slower pace.”
Princeton slows the pace down a lot as it is – the Tigers are No. 342 in the nation in possessions per 40 minutes, and while doing so, remain efficient on the offensive side of the ball.
“It’s one of the slower paces that we’ve faced – we don’t see a lot of that in our league, but the efficiency that they play with reminds me a lot of (a team like) Utah kind of team.”
Coincidentally, the Tigers battled Utah to a 79-76 loss earlier this season, before the Utes came into Hilton Coliseum and ran away from the Cyclones.
Fennelly reiterated that his team’s lack of familiarity with that kind of pace could provide a challenge in the game.
“You have to understand that going into it,” Fennelly said. “We’re not a team that’s going to force them and make them do different things. I think sometimes when you get into these events, you can overthink it. There’s a reason you got here. (We’re going to) play our game and it comes down to, ‘Who’s going to make a shot?'”
What Iowa State can control is how many possessions it gives away to Princeton. The Cyclones’ 476 turnovers this season rank in the top 10 in the country.
“We get a little loose with the ball,” Fennelly said. “Sometimes, some of the decisions we make, like I told my trainer, ‘Can we test them to see if we’re color blind or something because sometimes, I just don’t know what we’re doing,'” Fennelly said with a half-grin. “I always tell them, ‘Its like life – if you don’t think it’s a good decision don’t do it. Alright? It’s midnight, OK? You’re going to a party, maybe its not a good idea to make that decision… you know, do something else.”
That stat becomes a lot more important when the opponent minimizes its possessions.
“They don’t lose their phone, they don’t lose anything, but the ball just doesn’t seem to be as important,” Fennelly said. “When we take care of the ball, we can score. When we don’t take care of the ball, we get a little bit crazy, and defensively, we’re not one of those teams that’s going to overpower you. So we better value the ball a little better than we do at times.”
If there’s an X-factor to be had outside of each team’s top three scorers, it could come in Iowa State’s Kelsey Jones.
Since she was made a main figure to the Cyclones’ rotation to chase rebounds as a primary focus, Iowa State’s season has been drastically different.
“Obviously when you get to this part of the season, everything is so magnified,” Fennelly said. “There’s a lot of games that change – win or lose – by a hustle play or a play that doesn’t appear in the stat sheet. And you see it starting in the conference tournament and there’s a loose ball here and there, and Kelsey does that a lot.”
The Cyclones are 7-2 since the staff made that move, with a win over No. 14 Kansas State. They’re playing their best ball right now.
“There’s a reason you’re here,” Fennelly said. “Play that way and hopefully its good enough.”
