ISU loses to Texas in Big 12 tourney title game
KANSAS CITY, Mo. − The Iowa State women’s basketball team’s surprisingly successful season took another unexpected turn when the Cyclones arrived at the Big 12 Tournament. After beating Baylor, the Cyclones stunned top-seeded Oklahoma and stormed into the championship game for the second straight season.
But Iowa State’s magical run came to an end Tuesday night.
No. 2 seed Texas ended the surprise story by beating the Cyclones 70-53 in the Big 12 Tournament title game at the T-Mobile Center. Iowa State, the tournament’s reigning champion, had its six-game winning streak come to an end and fell to 20-10.
“We did for the most part what we came here to do this week,” said Iowa State freshman Audi Crooks. “We played two really good games and a really good half, I’d say, in this game.”
After losing to Iowa State in last season’s title game, Texas got its revenge by beating the Cyclones in dominating fashion in the regular season and again in Tuesday’s championship game. The Longhorns, the top offensive team in the Big 12 this season, shot 46% (28-for-61) from the field including 64% (7-for-11) from 3-point range.
Their offensive onslaught started right away during a strong first quarter that included a 7-0 run to take a quick 14-4 lead.
The Longhorns carried it over into the second quarter, using an 11-0 run to build the lead to 20. Iowa State, meanwhile, missed its first six shots of the second quarter.
Crooks, Iowa State’s top scoring threat, missed her first five shots of the game and scored the Cyclones’ first basket of the quarter with 5 minutes and 30 seconds remaining. By then, the damage was done. Even after a 3pointer by Kelsey Joens late in the second quarter, the Cyclones hobbled into halftime trailing 40-21.
“They’re a super talented team and they have a lot of talent at different spots,” said Iowa State point guard Emily Ryan. “It’s hard to pick and choose and they were hitting a lot of tough shots tonight.”
But the young Cyclones, as they have so often this season, continued to battle the Longhorns and made Texas work for its win with an improved second half. Crooks, who tallied just six points in the first half, tallied two quick layups in the third quarter and brought Iowa State to within 40-25.
The Cyclones continued to cut into the lead with a 7-0 run on layups by Ryan and Crooks. A 3-pointer by Ryan cut Texas’ lead to 47-32. Arianna Jackson brought Iowa State to within 49-37 with 1:21 left in the frame. The Cyclones had a chance to cut the lead to single digits but their following possession came up empty.
Texas took advantage when Madison Booker connected on a jumper before the buzzer to give the Longhorns a 51-37 heading into the fourth quarter.
“They looked like a Final Four team,” said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly.
The hope is that the Cyclones will someday fit that description. Iowa State has defied expectations this season. The Cyclones’ roster underwent a massive makeover last spring and summer with five players from last season’s Big 12 Tournament championship team transferring. Five freshmen helped fill the gaps and guided Iowa State to an impressive regular-season showing and a No. 4 seed in the league tournament.
But Tuesday was a reminder that the Cyclones are an inexperienced group. The Cyclones have been plagued by turnovers all season and struggled in that part of the game again. Twenty Iowa State turnovers led to 23 Texas points.
Crooks, despite the first-half struggles, finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds. She was the only Cyclone to score in double figures. Ryan finished with seven points, eight assists and four rebounds.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do and a lot of learning to do and we still have the postseason still,” Crooks said.
What’s next for Iowa State? Well, it’s wait and see
The Cyclones, 31st in the NET rankings entering Tuesday, will find out their NCAA Tournament seed and opponent on Sunday (7 p.m., ESPN).
Iowa State put together an impressive resume that includes six wins over teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 this season. One of the Cyclones’ marquee wins came against No. 1 seed Oklahoma in Monday’s semifinals.
ESPN women’s bracketologist Charlie Creme had the Cyclones as an eight seed in his latest projections heading into Tuesday’s title game.
“We’ve played really good teams,” Fennelly said. “We’ve played in a great league. I think the biggest thing is when you get to the postseason, we’ve seen a lot in this league. I don’t know that we’re going to see anything in the NCAA Tournament that we haven’t seen in the Big 12.”
All-Tournament honors
Voters selected Crooks and Ryan to the All-Tournament team. It was a memorable week for both Cyclones. Ryan broke Iowa State’s all-time assists record. Crooks scored 23 points in the quarterfinals, 25 in the semifinals and 25 in the championship game.