AMES – Jada Williams (22) and Audi Crooks (20) combined to pour in 42 points as Iowa State held off Kansas State for the 76-72 win Sunday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum.
The Cyclones moved to 20-6 overall and 8-6 in Big 12 action. It is the 19th 20-win season under head coach Bill Fennelly.
Kansas State drops to 14-13 overall and 7-7 in conference play.
ISU led for more than 32 minutes in the game, but K-State was able to make things interesting late in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead down to just two points multiple times late in the game.
How it Happened
Kansas State held a 20-19 edge at the end of a foul-plagued first quarter, overcoming just 27 percent shooting to hold a one-point lead. Crooks had eight points in the first quarter while Aniya’ Foy paced the Wildcats with seven.
K-State opened up a 26-24 lead in the second quarter, but it was brief as the Cyclones responded with a 9-0 run to go up 33-26. The Cyclones took a 37-30 lead into the half despite no field goals over the final three minutes of the second quarter. ISU’s defense was stifling, holding KSU to just 8-for-30 shooting in the first half, its worst-shooting first half of the season.
The Cyclones led 56-49 at the end of the third quarter and were able to extend the lead to 13 points (62-49) with 8:23 left. But K-State got hot and trimmed the deficit to just three at 67-64, mostly behind Taryn Sides.
With Iowa State up 69-65, Gina Garcia put in a floater to make it a two-point Cyclone lead. The Wildcats got a stop and a foul on the Cyclones sending Tess Heal to the line and she made one-of-two at the stripe.
That is when Kenzie Hare stepped up and connected on her second 3-pointer of the game to make it a two-possession advantage for the Cyclones. The Cyclones were able to ice it away at the free-throw line, where they finished the game 25-for-28.
Top Performers
Williams led the Cyclones with 22 points, nine assists and five rebounds and was 12-for-12 at the line. The junior scored 18 points in the second half.
Crooks got into double figures for the 92nd-straight game and reached 20 points for the 18th time this season. She also had nine rebounds.
Ariana Jackson was the only other Cyclone in double figures with 11 points. Jackson connected on three 3-pointers.
K-State got a game-high 23 points from Taryn Sides, 20 of which were scored in the second half.
Up Next
Iowa State stays home for a Wednesday showdown against Arizona State at Hilton Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
Notes
Today’s attendance: 10,746
Iowa State women’s basketball’s all-time record moves to 891-684 (.566) and 353-364 (.492) in conference play.
Fennelly’s career record moves to 820-384 (.681) in his 38-year career and 654-331 (.664) at Iowa State.
With her first basket of the day, Reese Beaty scored her 100th point as a Cyclone.
With 20 points today, Audi Crooks extended her double-figure scoring streak to 92 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.
The 20-point game is also the 59th of Crooks’ career.
Crooks finished 8-of-10 at the free throw line, moving her career total to 400 makes at the line and the sixth all-time best mark by a Cyclone. She passed Seanna Johnson’s 398 free throws.
With her first 3-pointer of the second half, Arianna Jackson scored her 11th point of the day and 500th of her career.
Jackson’s point total also marks her fifth double-figure scoring performance in her last seven games.
Alisa Williams scored her 250th point as a Cyclone and tallied her 100th career field goal with a bucket in the second quarter.
Jada Williams posted her 190th assist of the season with five dimes in the first half, becoming an ISU Top 10 single-season assists leader. She has passed out 194 assists in her first season as a Cyclone.
