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Women's Basketball
UW-Oshkosh (Ex.)
Iowa State University Athletics
Tuesday, March 12
Kansas City, Mo.
8:00 PM
Iowa State University
20-11,11-6Big 12
53
vs
70
Texas
30-4,14-4Big 12
1
2
3
4
F
Iowa St.
10
11
16
16
53
Texas
19
21
11
19
70
Photo by: LUKE LU @KL6PHOTO
Iowa State Falls to No. 5 Texas in Big 12 Title Game
03.12.2024 | Women's Basketball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Iowa State (20-11, 12-6 Big 12) fell to No. 5 Texas (30-4, 14-4 Big 12) in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship final by a score of 70-53.
In Iowa State's eighth finals appearance, the Cyclones fell behind by 19 at half and could not overcome the deficit despite shooting at 63.2 percent in the second half.
Emily Ryan broke the all-time Big 12 Championships career record with 64, passing fellow Cyclone Lyndsey Medders record of 57 that has stood since 2007. Ryan achieved the total in nine tournament games. The guard had eight assists in the game to go along with seven points, four rebounds, a steal and a block.
Audi Crooks had game No. 30 in a row with double-figure scoring, totaling 25. Crooks ends the 2024 Big 12 Championship with 33 made field goals, now tied for the third-most in Big 12 history. Crooks has now scored 20 or more points in 16 games, including seven of the last nine games.
Crooks and Ryan were both named to the All-Tournament team. Crooks totaled 73 points at an average of 24.33 points per game, the highest point total and fourth-highest average among all Big 12 players. Ryan led the tournament averaging 9.33 assists per game and totaled 28.
How it Happened
Texas jumped out to an early 10-point lead, but back-to-back Hannah Belanger 3-pointers brought the Cyclones back within four at 14-10 with 3:25 to go in the opening frame. The Longhorns would make two buckets to follow to end the first ahead 19-10.
UT would begin the second on a run of six to build a 15-point lead (25-10) while holding ISU under 30 percent shooting, causing Iowa State to call a timeout at 7:43. The Cyclones would commit their eighth turnover as Texas then built its lead to 20. Kelsey Joens sent in the buzzer-beating 3-pointer, but Texas would take a 40-21 lead into halftime.
After Texas went up by 22, Iowa State went on a 7-0 run, with five points by Ryan, to trim the deficit into the media timeout. The Cyclones would end the third on a 12-4 run, making six of their last eight shots, to make the scoreboard read 51-37 as the final quarter began.
Belanger would make her third 3-pointer, but Texas would remain with a 15-point advantage (59-44) with 6:35 remaining in the contest. The Longhorns would hold onto their lead to seal the championship.
Notes
- Iowa State women's basketball's all-time record moved to 847-664 (.561).
- Head coach Bill Fennelly's career record moved to 776-365 (.681). His Iowa State record is now 610-312 (.662) overall.
- The Cyclones are 34-38 all-time in the single elimination format of the conference tournament and 33-25 in the Fennelly era.
- With Hannah Belanger's 3-pointer in the first quarter, Iowa State has now recorded a triple in an NCAA women's basketball record 925 consecutive games.
- Emily Ryan has recorded an assist in every collegiate game she has played in. Today, she finished with eight assists, moving her career total to 764. She has posted five or more assists in a single game 16 times this season and 84 times in her career.
- With her third assist tonight, Emily Ryan set Iowa State's single-series individual assist record, breaking Alison Lacey's 22 dimes during 2008. Ryan finished with 28 dimes through three games.
- With eight assists tonight, Ryan set the all-time Big 12 Championships career record for assists with 64, passing Lyndsey Medders' 57 from 2003-07.
- With 25 points, Audi Crooks matched the ninth-best mark for points by an individual player in a single Big 12 Championship series (74).
- With 11 field goals, Crooks posted the third-best made field goal total in single-series Big 12 Championships history (34).
- Audi Crooks tallied a team-high 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the floor. It marks her 16th 20-point game and her 30th-consecutive game finishing in double figures. She was one rebound short of a double-double. It is the 19th time Crooks has led ISU scorers.
- Hannah Belanger has made a 3-pointer in 19-straight games. She finished her day with nine points with three triples.
- With two assists tonight, Addy Brown became just the 30th NCAA Division I women's basketball since 1999-00 to tally at least 400 points, 250 rebounds and 150 assists in a single season.
Up Next
Iowa State will wait to hear its name called tonight at the 2024 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Selection Show Sunday, March17 at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Team Stats
IowaSt
UT
FG%
.465
.459
3FG%
.500
.636
FT%
.778
.700
RB
28
30
TO
20
7
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
11
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
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