AMES – No. 12 Iowa State (7-0, 0-0 Big 12) rolled past Mercyhurst (0-5, 0-0 NEC) by a score of 112-62 Sunday afternoon inside Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State’s 7-0 start to the season matches the best start since 2021-22.
After a competitive first quarter, the Cyclones pulled away and never looked back. Iowa State was able to get into the paint and draw fouls, finishing 34-40 from the charity stripe. Audi Crooks led the charge, totaling 27 points, along with Arianna Jackson and her 4-of-6 shooting from downtown.
Addy Brown kicked things off with a quick five points in the first 20 seconds, then assisted on back-to-back triples from Kenzie Hare and Arianna Jackson to help the Cyclones get off to an 11-2 start. Mercyhurst would fire back with several three pointers, eventually taking the 17-15 lead with 4:41 left in the first. Both teams would trade baskets the rest of the way, then Alisa Williams knocked down two free throws with seven seconds left to give Iowa State a 26-24 lead to end the first quarter.
After allowing Mercyhurst to shoot 50 percent from the field and drain four three-pointers in the first quarter, Iowa State turned it up defensively in the second. Jackson hit her second three of the game, which sparked a 9-0 run to start the frame, and causing a Mercyhurst timeout. Crooks would score a second chance layup at the 5:15 mark to surpass Alison Lacey and jump into 12th place on the Cyclones’ all-time scoring list. She later passed former teammate and Iowa State graduate assistant Emily Ryan (1,632) for 11th on the all-time list. Reese Beaty gave a spark for the Cyclones bench, igniting the Hilton crowd with 9 points and two steals in the quarter. A well-balanced 32 point quarter, along with holding Mercyhurst to 25 percent shooting, propelled ISU to a 58-33 lead at the end of the first half.
Iowa State used a 13-0 run at the start of the third quarter to increase their lead to 38. Crooks went 8-of-9 from the line in the quarter to reach 27 points on the night, as the Cyclones headed to the fourth with an 89-43 lead.
Iowa State would go on to win 112-62, with five Cyclones finishing in double-figures.
Top Performer
Audi Crooks finished with 27 points on 8-of-9 shooting and 11-for-14 from the line. Crooks also grabbed four rebounds and two steals in 22 minutes.
Up Next
No. 12 Iowa State travels to Fort Myers, Fla. for the Coconut Hoops tournament, where the Cyclones will face off against Marquette on Friday, Nov. 28th at 10 a.m. CT.
Notes
Iowa State women’s basketball’s all-time record moves to 877-678 (.564) and 640-325 (.663) in the Bill Fennelly era.
Fennelly’s career record moves to 806-378 (.681) in his 38-year career.
Iowa State scored 112 points today, tied for the third-most in a single game in program history. It is tied for the second-most points scored by a Cyclone team in regulation.
ISU’s 51 bench points marks the highest single-game total by the squad this season.
Scoring a game-high 27 points, Audi Crooks extended her double-figure scoring streak to 74 games. She has scored in double digits in every collegiate game except for her Cyclone debut in 2023.
Crooks has scored 1,637 points in her career, the 11th most by a Cyclone. With 27 points, she passed Alison Lacey’s 1,620 points (2007-10) and Emily Ryan’s 1,632 points (2021-25).
With her third rebound of the day, Addy Brown pulled down her 600th career board. She has recorded 306 rebounds in her career.
Arianna Jackson finished 4-of-6 from beyond the arc today, the second straight game she has hit four triples.
With her first steal of the day, Evangelia Paulk swiped her 150th career steal. She has totaled 151 career steals.
Lilly Taulelei recorded her 50th point at Iowa State with her first points of the day. Taulelei has tallied 53 points as a Cyclone.
1 thought on “Women’s College Basketball: No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones roll past Mercyhurst, 112-62”
Have they played any team with wins or are they all o’fers?