Audi Crooks grabbed the Iowa State nameplate and emphatically positioned it on the large NCAA match bracket board, into the house for the second spherical.
She completely earned the prospect to take action.
“That was so enjoyable, my teammates soaked me in water,” she mentioned, nonetheless grinning from ear to ear some half-hour later.
The freshman star scored a career-high 40 factors — probably the most by a freshman in girls’s NCAA match historical past — on 18-for-20 taking pictures, and No. 7 seed Iowa State hit all the large pictures within the second half to rally from 20 factors down and beat Tenth-seeded Maryland 93-86 on Friday night time.
The 20-point comeback marked the second-largest all time in a girls’s NCAA match sport, trailing solely Texas A&M overcoming a 21-point deficit to beat Penn in 2017.
“I believed that was one of the entertaining video games I’ve ever been part of,” Iowa State coach Invoice Fennelly mentioned, praising his crew’s poise to cost again. “So pleased with our crew, ecstatic for them.”
Combating tears, Crooks shared how she takes a second earlier than each sport to be religious, pray and keep in mind her father Jimmie, who died when she was 16 in 2021. She dedicated to Iowa State shortly after that, and Fennelly even went to her favourite Mexican restaurant through the recruiting course of though it isn’t his favourite fare.
“I am simply grateful. I can not say thanks sufficient to the folks that I am surrounded by,” Crooks mentioned. “While you’re surrounded by folks that you just love, that care about you, that belief you as a lot as they do getting you the ball, that speaks volumes to how we play as a unit.”
Crooks grew to become simply the fourth participant in Iowa State program historical past to attain 40 factors in a sport. Her efficiency marked probably the most factors in an NCAA debut prior to now 25 years and second most in a debut all time.
Emily Ryan knocked down a key 3-pointer with 6:06 remaining and completed with 18 factors whereas meting out 14 assists as Iowa State saved pounding the ball inside to the ever-reliable Crooks — even when it led to a handful of late turnovers.
Crooks, this system’s first freshman to earn AP All-America honors along with her honorable point out choice this week, got here in main the crew averaging 18.9 factors and seven.7 rebounds and have become the sixteenth participant to attain 40 or extra this season. She had 12 rebounds towards Maryland.
“She dropped 40 on 20 pictures, that is fairly eye-popping proper there,” Ryan mentioned of mentioning the stat sheet to her teammates. “It was a particular night time for her in addition to our crew. It could not have occurred to a greater particular person. … Once we throw it in there, she will get it each time.”
Crooks grew to become the primary participant in girls’s NCAA match historical past to attain 40 factors on 90% discipline objective taking pictures, and she or he tied Brittney Griner for probably the most factors by a Massive 12 participant within the historical past of the match.
Allie Kubek knocked down all 5 of her 3-pointers within the first half and completed with seven from lengthy vary on the way in which to a season-best 29 factors, and it seemed like Maryland would possibly run away from the Cyclones.
As a substitute, it is Iowa State (21-11) advancing to play Sunday for a spot within the Portland Regional. The Cyclones will face second-seeded Stanford (29-5) after the Cardinal beat No. 15 Norfolk State 79-50 in Friday’s late sport at Maples Pavilion.
Kelsey Joens hit a tying 3-pointer with 3:20 left within the third quarter as Iowa State used a 10-0 run to get again within the sport, and Crooks’ three-point play on the 2:50 mark put the Cyclones forward 62-61 earlier than she scored once more the subsequent time down.
Kubek’s sizzling hand from 3-point vary obtained Maryland (19-14) going early from the perimeter, and the Terrapins needed to attempt to make issues powerful on the 6-foot-3 Crooks within the low submit as she got here in taking pictures an NCAA-best 58.4% from the ground.
“I’d say it is among the finest I’ve ever seen contemplating the factors, the effectivity, the venue, the occasion,” Fennelly mentioned.
Maryland made 9 3s within the first half, its most in any half this season, and the 11 whole 3s have been the Terrapins’ excessive.
This was a training reunion between shut pals. Fennelly employed now-Terrapins coach Brenda Frese on his first employees in Ames, and she or he stayed with this system from 1995 to 1999. They posed for a photograph earlier than the sport.
“It is terrible. Brenda’s a part of my household,” Fennelly mentioned of beating his pricey buddy.
The packages had by no means met beforehand — and Frese’s crew reached its 14th straight NCAA match after an upset of Ohio State within the Massive Ten match earlier than shedding to Nebraska.
“We’re actually dissatisfied and unhappy for our fifth-year seniors that we could not shut this out,” mentioned Frese, whose groups had by no means misplaced within the first spherical throughout her tenure courting to 2002.
ESPN Stats & Data and The Related Press contributed to this report.