A kick off to the Cyclones’ 2025-26 season began with a competitive exhibition 84-53 victory over the Titans. Faces new and old to Hilton contributed to land Iowa State a smooth sailing victory.
Cyclones playing in the paint
As Iowa State opens its season with an exhibition game against UW Oshkosh, scoring in the paint fueled the energetic win.
In the first quarter, the Cyclones went 9-for-17 on field goals and 10-for-17 in the second quarter.
After 20 minutes, Iowa State put up 32 points in the paint. Staying tight to the net pushed the Cyclones to go 14-18 on layups in the first half. Six of Iowa State’s players found themselves scoring in the paint.
Leading Iowa State in points in the paint was junior center Audi Crooks, who had 17 in the first half. While Crooks had the points, junior forward Addy Brown contributed with 10 points, two rebounds and three assists.
“I just made one of my focuses just to run the floor, you know,” Brown said. “That’s what we do every day, we step up and knock down shots.”
The Titans, on the other hand, only contributed eight of their 28 first-half points in the paint. UW Oshkosh focused its scoring beyond the 3-point line. With five threes in the first half, the Titans trailed the Cyclones 49-28.
Heading into the second half, both teams stayed consistent in the paint. As UW Oshkosh attempted to establish a comeback, Iowa State’s defense and offense went off the rails.
In the second half, Brown and freshman guard Reese Beaty led the Cyclones in points with seven each. Brown hit two inside the paint and one 3-pointer. Beaty hit three inside the paint and a free throw.
Iowa State put up 18 points in the paint in the second half, and across the team, everyone got their shot to shine. 20 points came from players off the bench.
Disrupting the peace in the defensive zone
Between forcing turnovers and banking off of rebounds in the defensive zone, the Cyclones showed out.
Iowa State became pests of UW Oshkosh as the team stayed fierce and in the Titans’ faces. The Cyclones scored 17 of their first-half points off Titans turnovers.
Taking over possession was largely accomplished by defensive rebounds. Throughout the game, 33 of 40 rebounds were defensive. Iowa State took its nickname to the next level as the team set a storm loose to break up the offense of UW Oshkosh.
“For us it was about being committed, being competitive and being connected,” Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said. “We owe it to our fans, and I thought they played that way. I think our fans enjoyed watching this group go to work.”
The Cyclones also took advantage of the Titans’ running down the shot clock approach and successfully shut it down.
UW Oshkosh took a defensive focus, as the team had 23 defensive rebounds and scored nine points off turnovers.
Multiple Iowa State players across the score sheet
A key focus for this exhibition game was to get everyone playing time and to test out matchups. Through this, four players stood out as they put up impressive statistics across the board. Beaty, Brown, Crooks and junior guard Jada Williams came into this game ready to contribute.
Beaty closed out her first collegiate game with nine points, three rebounds and five assists. As she hit Hilton for the first time, she has proven to look to become a key role at point guard.
Williams looks to play the same role as Beaty, with this being Williams’ first game at Hilton and as a fellow point guard, she showed up big. With eight points, three rebounds and seven assists, Williams looks to be a key asset on this team.
“I’m just super happy to play with these girls, and our coaching staff is awesome,” Williams said. “We knew that Hilton magic was something exciting, so just being able to experience that was super exciting.”
Both Brown and Crooks have established themselves as leaders of this team and focus on leading by example; their performances proved that in a thrilling win. Brown closed out the game with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists. Crooks led the team to victory with 24 points and seven rebounds.
With an exhibition game completed, Iowa State has its first game of the season on the mind. The Cyclones kick off their season with a game vs the St. Thomas Tommies at 11 a.m. Monday.
