SPORTS UPDATE
Iowa State center Audi Crooks set a new program record with 43 points in the Cyclones’ 97-50 win over Valparaiso on Wednesday night. Even more impressive is the fact that she did it while playing just 20 minutes and also while feeling sick.
“Well, the night didn’t start so well for me,” Crooks said. “This is going to be a shock, but this was like the (Michael) Jordan flu game for me. I came out in the first quarter and I had to ditch my pregame meal. I was not feeling well at all. So this was a shock.”
She didn’t tell the coaching staff she wasn’t feeling good. Eventually, they figured it out, but by then she was finding her rhythm. Coach Bill Fennelly said he was looking at playing her 20 minutes. She was running out of time early in the fourth quarter, but she scored six quick points to break the record and got subbed out just in time. In fact, Des Moines Register writer Tommy Birchpointed out that Crooks was on the floor less than 20 minutes — her official playing time was 19 minutes and 56 seconds.
Crooks passed Tonya Burns’ record of 42 points against Nebraska on Jan. 18, 1984. She shot an efficient 78.3% from the field and also neared a double-double with seven rebounds to help No. 16 Iowa State start the season 4-0. This was the fewest minutes played in a 40-point game in DI women’s college basketball since at least 2002-03.
But after all of this, Crooks played it cool during the postgame press conference.
“It’s not really about the accolades and the records,” Crooks said. “Of course, it’s an honor to be etched in school history, but it’s about, like, ‘Who did it with you?’ It’s not about the destination, more the journey, so just incredibly grateful to be surrounded by such great people.”
In that same statement, Crooks said she thought it was more important to congratulate her teammate Addy Brown, who scored 18 points en route to achieving 1,000 career points. Meanwhile, Brown also hyped up her teammates’ performance.
“Crazy,” Brown said. “It’s the only word I have. And she did it in 20 minutes, that’s unreal. I think if she would have played all 40, she would have scored 100. So, maybe next time.”
There must have been something in the air on Wednesday night because Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo also broke a program record with a 44-point performance while putting up 16 steals — a new Division I record.It was the first time since 2019 that two major-conference players have dropped 40+ points on the same day since Feb. 28, 2019, when Louisville’s AD Durr had 47 points against NC State and the late Tiana Mangakahia of Syracuse scored 44 against Florida State.
The Cyclones will be back on the court on Sunday afternoon when they host Norfolk State. The game is set for 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
