Iowa State women's basketball has a new hero. Audi Crooks did her best Bill Walton impression for the Lady Cyclones in an NCAA Tournament game on Friday. Crooks scored 40 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Iowa State, in a powerful 93-86 victory over Maryland.
That was impressive in its own right, but Crooks did one even better. The Cyclones' center accomplished a feat in the victory that hadn't been done in more than five decades. She finished the game shooting better than 90 percent from the floor, while also pouring in 40 in an NCAA tournament game. That hadn't happened in all of college basketball since 1973, when Bill Walton did it for UCLA in the national championship, per OptaStats.
Players with 40+ points on 90% shooting in an NCAA Tournament game, all-time (men or women):
Bill Walton, UCLA (1973 title game)
Audi Crooks, @CycloneWBB (tonight) pic.twitter.com/pSbf9oBvJP— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) March 23, 2024
Crooks finished the game going 18-for-20 from the field for the Cyclones. She was unstoppable, and helped propel the team to its first NCAA tournament win since the 2021-22 season. Iowa State women's basketball is now 21-11 on the year, as it moves to the Round of 32 in the women's tournament. The team will next play the no. 2 seed Stanford in that game, on Sunday.
Crook's process
Iowa State women's basketball has a star in Crooks, who has already accomplished a great deal in her short career. She was Iowa Miss Basketball in 2023, and stayed in the state to play her college ball in Ames. She was named to the All-Big 12 First Team this season. The 6-foot-3 center averages nearly 20 points a game, while also hauling in almost 8 rebounds a contest. Following the win over Maryland, Crooks got emotional discussing her process while preparing for each game.
Iowa State’s Audi Crooks gets emotional talking about the passing of her father when she was 16 – and how she prays before every game: pic.twitter.com/P66fvcasHe
— Talia Goodman (@goodmansport) March 23, 2024
“Before every game, I just try to take a moment and I pray,” she said, per 247 Sports. “I am seeking guidance from my father. He passed away when I was sixteen, in 2021. I just try to take a second and ground myself and tap into my spiritual side, and just know that everything is going to be okay.”
Crooks is now in fine company with Walton. The UCLA star dropped 40 and shot better than 90 percent from the field in the 1973 national championship, when the Bruins defeated Memphis 87-66. In that game, Walton shot an astonishing 21-for-22 from the field. He finished the game with 44 points, to go with 13 rebounds.
After Iowa State's win, Crooks said she was congratulated by her teammates.
“That was so fun, my teammates soaked me in water,” Crooks said, per the Associated Press. “I’m just excited to be able to have another game with these girls, with this group. This is a special team and I just didn’t want it to end.”
Time will tell if Crooks can keep this red-hot run going and get Iowa State women's basketball to the NCAA tournament championship. Iowa State plays Stanford on Sunday in the Portland regional.
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