Women’s College Basketball: Iowa State drops contest to #24 Oklahoma, 86-72

AMES – Iowa State (13-9, 7-5 Big 12) fell to No. 24 Oklahoma (17-6, 11-1 Big 12) by a final of 86-72 Saturday night. The loss to the Sooners, who sit atop the Big 12 standings, was the Cyclones' first Big 12 defeat at home this season.

Iowa State could not overcome 15 first half turnovers as OU took a 14-point lead into the third and would end the game ahead by 14.

Audi Crooks had her 21st-straight game with 10 or more points, totaling an ISU-leading 14 with eight coming from free throws while also having six assists and rebounds. Emily Ryan put up 13 points going 5-of-8 from the field while making 3-of-5 shots from deep. Ryan also had four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Nyamer Diew was the third in double figures with 10.

\ISU began with a lead of three before Oklahoma got on the board with a triple at 8:04, to which Ryan answered with a 3-pointer. With ISU up 8-7, Jalynn Bristow kept the Cyclones ahead with a wide open 3-pointer. OU would go on to get its first lead of 12-11 at the midway point. Hannah Belanger followed to send in the layup through her defenders and converting on the and-one to make it 14-12, ISU. Three lead changes followed before Oklahoma took an eight-point lead of 27-19 to end the first.

Kelsey Joens and Ryan delivered 3-pointers on back-to-back Iowa State possessions to trim OU’s lead to four (31-27) with 7:29 remaining in the second. Oklahoma would respond going up by double digits after a run of six. Turnovers proved costly as ISU committed 15 in the first half, resulting in 17 OU points as the visitors took a 49-35 lead into halftime.

Oklahoma remained up by double digits, leading 56-45 at the third quarter media timeout. Isnelle Natabou made it an eight-point game (56-48) after a made free throw and a layup, but Oklahoma followed with a 10-0 run to take its largest lead at 66-48. At the end of the third, Oklahoma led 69-55.
OU would go on to seal the 86-72 victory.

Notes
Iowa State women’s basketball’s all-time record moved to 840-662 (.560) and 327-350 (.484) all-time in conference games.
The Cyclones lost their first home game in over two months as their Hilton Coliseum record this season moves to 10-2.
Head coach Bill Fennelly’s career record moved to 769-363 (.679). His Iowa State record is now 603-310 (.660).
The all-time series record between Iowa State and Oklahoma moves to 44-32 in favor of the Sooners while ISU still holds a 19-14 advantage in games played at Hilton Coliseum.
With Emily Ryan’s 3-pointer in the first quarter, Iowa State has now recorded a triple in an NCAA women’s basketball record 916 consecutive games.
Three Cyclones finish with double-figure scoring, led by Audi Crooks’ 14 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the free throw line. Emily Ryan and Nyamer Diew added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
With three field goals, Audi Crooks gained sole possession of the third-best season total by a freshman in program history (153), passing Tonya Burns’ 150 makes in 1981-82. She is 10 off the top mark, set by Colleen Peterson in 1975-76.
Crooks also passed out a season-high six assists to lead Iowa State tonight.
Addy Brown was a point and a rebound shy of her eighth double-double of the season.
Brown has recorded 286 points, 188 rebounds and 111 steals this season, the only Iowa State freshman and just the fourth Cyclone (Bridget Carleton, 2018-19; Tracy Gahan, 2001-02; Anne O’Neil, 2004-05) since 1999-2000 to reach those totals in a single season.

Up Next
Iowa State next hosts No. 8 Kansas State February 14 at 6:30 p.m. The matchup will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.