Another night, another new career high in scoring for Audi Crooks. And Iowa State needed every one of the freshman center’s 29 points to put away Oklahoma State, 78-67, Wednesday before a crowd of 9,962 at Hilton Coliseum.
Iowa State will be taking in its first home game since beating No. 13 Baylor, 66-63, on Jan. 13. The Cyclones’ scheduled home date with TCU on Jan. 20 became a win by forfeit, so enjoying the Hilton crowd’s loud support against the Cowgirls could serve as a salve of sorts after a three-game losing skid.
Kelsey Joens’ desire to excel is all-consuming. It’s a family trait her older sister, Ashley — Iowa State’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder — exhibited in five seasons as a Cyclone. But Kelsey Joens adds a unique twist to her family’s formula for success.
First, the good news for Iowa State: The 24th-ranked Cyclones didn’t even need to suit up to notch their sixth straight Big 12 Conference win. Now, the bad news: When ISU actually got to play a game, it suffered its first league setback of the season, 71-63, to Texas Tech in Lubbock.
Audi Crooks’ favorite word isn’t “score.” It’s not “rebound.” It’s not even “win.” No, Iowa State’s star 6-foot-3 center — the program’s first freshman to attain Big 12 player of the week honors on Monday — adores a different word that embodies all of the aforementioned ones: “Growth.”
Iowa State upended No. 4 Baylor, 66-63, Saturday to move to 5-0 in the Big 12 women’s basketball standings. The Cyclones rallied from a 24-11 deficit at the end of the first quarter.
Iowa State honored Bill Fennelly for winning his 600th game as the Cyclones’ head women’s basketball coach before Wednesday’s matchup with No. 24 West Virginia. But what his young ISU team did to conjure up win No. 601 stole the show.
There’s a wall at the Iowa State women’s basketball practice facility dedicated to several former Cyclones who made the WNBA. And someday, versatile freshman forward Addy Brown could be on it.
Hannah Belanger finished with a game-high 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc while scoring the 2,000th point of her career. Her outburst helped Iowa State outscore Kansas by 11 points in what proved to be a decisive third quarter that came on the heels of a shaky first half.
Iowa State freshman Arianna Jackson doubled her previous career-high in points while quadrupling her single-game benchmark in made 3-pointers Sunday against Oklahoma State. She already had established herself as a skilled defender and facilitator at this level, but she proved she could score at a high level, as well.
Iowa State improved to 7-4 with a win over UNI in its final non-conference game. Freshmen led the way and Emily Ryan played a key role.
But freshman women’s basketball star already is making 67 percent of her shots
Iowa State’s first-team All-Big 12 point guard Emily Ryan returned to a standing ovation Sunday after she missed the first nine games because of a “health-related issue.”
Cyclones don’t have one big scorer, but have many scorers in lopsided win Sunday
The Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Iowa State Cyclones 67-58 at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
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