Audi Crooks surpasses 1,500 points in Iowa State's 85-58 rout of Southern

AMES — Audi Crooks became the 13th player in Iowa State women’s basketball history to eclipse 1,500 career points.

And the star Cyclone center did it in just her 70th game — a splendid 29-point, 14-rebound performance that helped her team subdue Southern, 85-58, Wednesday before a crowd of 8,908 at Hilton Coliseum.

“Honestly, I had no idea that I was even teetering close to that,” said Crooks, who passed former star Stacy Frese on the program’s all-time scoring chart. “But it mean a lot. I mean, that’s a lot of points. That’s a lot of assists from teammates, too. So it means a lot not only to be trusted in that way, but to be a Cyclone, honestly. To be able to do that for this university means a lot to me and I don’t take that for granted.”

Transfer point guard Jada Williams added 17 points on 8-for-13 shooting and Kenzie Hare and Sydney Harris each chipped in eight as ISU (2-0) used a 15-0 second-quarter run to distance itself from the Jaguars (0-2).

Harris’s first 3-pointer sparked the flourish, anther second moments later helped extend it as she continues to serve as a “microwave” of sorts off the bench from beyond the arc.

“That changed the game immediately,” said Cyclones head coach Bill Fennelly, who was honored for his 800th career win achieved late last season before the game. “We had a 3, a layup, a 3, and, you know, eight quick points. And we were defending well enough where they were gonna have trouble scoring.”

ISU outscored Southern, 25-7, in the second quarter — and didn’t allow a two-point basket in that span as the Jaguars’ went 1-for-14 from the field.

“We have the personnel to defend better than maybe we have here in a long, long maybe ever,” Fennelly said. “And my staff, Bill (Fennelly), (associate head) coach (Jodi) Steyer, have taken over the entirety of the defense and you can tell. Yeah, we gave up 58 points, but 17 of those were on free throws. … I really like our aggressiveness. We have kids that want to guard.”

Forward Addy Brown struggled shooting, but still produced a stat line of six points, eight assists and 13 rebounds — one shy of tying her single-game career high. Eleven different Cyclones scored and transfer forward Evangelia Paulk grabbed a game-high three offensive rebounds — with two coming in rapid succession that produced second-chance points.

“(She’s) all over the place,” Fennelly said. “You never know where she’s gonna be, but she plays so hard.”

So does Crooks, who drained 12 of her 16 field goal attempts and added three assists. But the biggest number Fennelly pointed to on her stat sheet was 33. That represented the minutes she played, and while that’s not a single-game career high, it is a high number this early in the season.

“These early games are preparations for the ones where I can’t come out,” Crooks said. “For the games I’m expected to play the entire time. So it’s just getting myself to a place to be stronger physically and mentally to be able to go fora really, really long time, and perform at a high level.”

Her next step? Hit a 3-point shot for the first time since sinking five in her freshman season.

“You’ve gotta hit one,” Williams said.

Crooks smiled.

“I will, I promise,” she said. “But coach (Fennelly’s) gotta give me another chance.”

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