Iowa State’s Kenzie Hare hit a 3-pointer to give the Cyclones the first points of Thursday’s showcase game, but it went downhill quickly as South Carolina rolled to a 76-36 win.
Following Hare’s three, South Carolina went on a 32-0 run. The Cyclones didn’t score again for over 15 minutes, with its next points coming with 4:01 to play in the second quarter.
“We struggled in everything we did,” coach Bill Fennelly said. “It was one of those games that you worry about as a coach. We played scared… we missed free throws, we missed layups. We’ve just got to figure some things out.”
Iowa State did start the third quarter on an 11-0 run, but couldn’t put much more than a dent in the already sizeable South Carolina lead.
“I think it just starts with our defense. We kind of came out with a different energy in the second half, and that opened things up on the offense – they have to guard Audi (Crooks) down low… We’ll get back to work.”
Audi Crooks led the team with 13 points on the day, while Hare was right there for the team high with 12 points herself. Emily Ryan finished with nine, and that trio combined to score 34 of the Cyclones’ 36 points.
“The most important thing we learned collectively is that we need to show up,” Crooks said on the Varsity Network app. “We can’t come out stronger in the second half than we did in the first… We kind of got exposed today.”
Lilly Taulelei had the other two points – just four of the 11 players that saw the floor scored points. This was also the first time in Addy Brown’s career that she was held scoreless.
“We knew the schedule would be this way. We lost the game, but we’ve got to figure out what we are about. We’ll see how we respond to practice.”
Iowa State will return to the floor on Saturday, to wrap up the showcase against Middle Tennessee State.
