Jada Williams led the scoring for ISU, totaling 23 points on 11-of-21 shooting, while also dishing out five assists and grabbing four rebounds. Arianna Jackson had herself an afternoon, scoring a career-high 18 points and draining 6-of-11 shots from beyond the arc.
Williams got things going with a floater to open up the game, but UCF jumped out to an early lead. A pair of triples from Evangelia Paulk and Jackson gave ISU a 10-8 edge at the first media timeout, which kick started a 13-0 run to force a UCF timeout. The Cyclones were held scoreless the final 3:38 of the first, but still maintained a 17-12 lead after one quarter of play.
Jackson hit her third triple of the game two minutes into the second frame to start the scoring for ISU. Hustle plays from Kenzie Hare and Paulk led to Reese Beaty drawing a foul and knocking in a pair of free throws, igniting the Hilton crowd as ISU led 23-14 at the 5:22 mark. Williams became the first to crack double-digits with a nifty inside hand finish and gave ISU their biggest lead at 11. At halftime, Iowa State led 31-23 as Audi Crooks was left without a basket in the first half for the first time since 2024.
Jackson connected on her fourth 3-pointer of the afternoon to give the Cyclones their largest lead (36-24) as UCF used a timeout at the 7:24 mark. With 3:25 left, Crooks grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it back in for her first basket, and fourth point of the game. Jackson tied and then broke her career-high in 3-pointers with her fifth and sixth make in back-to-back possessions to end the third, giving her a career-best 18 points as Iowa State led 46-35.
Williams took over in the fourth, scoring or assisting on 13 of the first 17 points in the quarter as the lead grew to 20. Another putback from Crooks with two minutes to go was her tenth point, extending her double-figure scoring streak to 89 games. UCF ended on a 9-2 run, but it wasn’t enough as Iowa State went on to win 65-52.
Top Performers
Jada Williams scored 11 of her 23 points in the fourth to keep the Knights at arm’s distance, going 5-for-5 from the field in the quarter. Williams scored in double-figures in her fifth straight game.
Arianna Jackson nailed a career-best six three pointers this afternoon, helping secure a career-high 18 points and also grabbed five rebounds.
Up Next
Iowa State heads to Salt Lake City, Utah to take on the Utes on Saturday, Feb. 7th at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Notes
Iowa State women’s basketball’s all-time record moves to 889-683 (.566) and 351-363 (.492) in conference play.
Bill Fennelly’s career record moves to 818-383 (.681) in his 38-year career and 652-330 (.664) at Iowa State.
With a win today, Fennelly has won 303 conference games in his ISU career (298-214 Big 12, 5-9 Big Eight).
With 10 points today, Audi Crooks extends her double-figure scoring streak to 89 games, the longest active streak in NCAA women’s basketball. It is the longest streak among Big 12 players since Brittney Griner’s 116-game streak.
Arianna Jackson totaled a career-high in points and 3-pointers made this afternoon, finishing with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from distance.
Evangelia Paulk tied a season-high in points after draining multiple 3-pointers for the first time this season. Paulk finished the night with 9 points on 3-for-6 from the field and 2-for-4 from long range.
