AMES – Iowa State’s sophomore duo of center Audi Crooks and forward Addy Brown led the No. 8 Cyclones to a huge 96-56 win Monday over Chicago State.
After being thrust into significant roles as freshmen a year ago, the pair of Cyclones look poised and prepared to lead Iowa State into the highly anticipated 2024-25 season.
Iowa State started the game firing on all cylinders, getting out to a 29-0 lead before Chicago State scored its first points on a last-second heave from 3-point land. Brown scored five points and four rebounds in the quarter, while Crooks scored six.
“We didn’t turn the ball over at all early in the game,” head coach Bill Fennelly said. “Obviously, with [Brown] and [Crooks], we had a great advantage there.”
The Cyclones only had two of their 14 turnovers in the first quarter and shot nearly 60% from the field as a team.
As usual, Brown filled the stat sheet by scoring, rebounding, passing and defending in almost 23 minutes played. She led in scoring and rebounding with 20 and nine and blocked three Chicago State shots. Brown was efficient, going 6-for-9 from the field and 2-for-3 from behind the arc.
“I’ve said this many times: if we didn’t have Audi Crooks, Addy Brown would get all that attention,” Fennelly said. “She is as skilled, as talented as anyone at her position in the country.”
Brown filled the stat sheet, but she isn’t concerned about finally notching herself in the record books with a triple-double. She wants to win.
“Doing anything my team needs me to do, each night it’s gonna look a little different,” Brown said. “The focus will be on different people because we have so many girls that can play this year.”
Some of the plays that resulted in the most emotion for Brown were her three blocks. After sending a Cougar shot flying backward, she would give a look that some may call a ‘mean mug.’
“She walks that very fine line, which I think is great, between confidence and cocky,” Fennelly said. “I think she is very comfortable, and you are talking about a kid that just played her first game of her sophomore year of college.”
Crooks was close behind with 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting. She played 18 minutes and made good use of her time, with a point for nearly every minute she played. When Crooks was fed down low, she did a good job of getting to her spot and drawing fouls. She made six free throws on four trips to the charity stripe.
The transition play is where Iowa State found a lot of success Monday. Brown and Crooks take all the attention when coming down the floor, opening up a lot of other looks for the Cyclones.
“If they go to help them [Crooks and Brown] which they will, now you got [Aili] Tanke, now you got AJ [Arianna Jackson], now you got whomever on the wing,” Fennelly said. “Well then the next time they run out and get the shooters, then we throw it into the post.”
The game comes easy to Crooks when she gets the ball in the paint, but it’s helpful to have someone who can get her the ball. Fifth-year senior Emily Ryan is the all-time leader in assists at Iowa State, and Crooks looks like she might be her main target this season.
“Obviously [Crooks] provides a great post presence inside, and Emily Ryan is the best distributor you’ll ever see in the game of college basketball, in my opinion,” Brown said. “It was exciting, even cooler to see the kids explode, it was super loud in there.”
The game was a field trip day for elementary schools in the area. Kids filled the stands where the student section usually is, and made it a very fun atmosphere for the players.
Brown and Crooks look confident and ready for the big moments. It is never easy for freshmen to be put in high-pressure situations like they were a year ago, but it helped them develop faster into who they are as players now.
The Cyclone duo will look to lead the team to a 2-0 start when they take on Indiana State at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at home. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
