Iowa State star Audi Crooks calmly continues to prove doubters wrong — and more from a busy weekend in sports
Crooks earned first-team All-Big 12 honors as a freshman, postseason play began, and the Cyclones' wrestlers embarked on their quest to win their first conference title since 2009
Iowa State’s Audi Crooks calmly executed the telltale narrative of proving doubters wrong as soon as she set foot on campus in Ames.
The 6-3 freshman from Algona Garrigan heard all the detractors declare that (a) her state championship-worthy performances didn’t mean much because of her small-town roots; (b) she wouldn’t be able to keep up with more athletic and experienced bigs in Big 12 play; and (c) she wouldn’t be able to condition herself to the rigors of big-time college basketball.
So Crooks became the Cyclones’ second freshman in program history to attain first-team All-Big 12 honors — and helped her team (19-10) oust No. 17 Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals Saturday in Kansas City.
“It’s been a journey,” Crooks said recently. “It has not come easy. A lot of people didn’t think that I could do it, but here I am.”
And on she goes. The ISU women will play regular-season champ Oklahoma Monday at 1:30 p.m. in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
The Cyclones won the conference tournament last season, but returned just one starter from that team in senior point guard Emily Ryan, who broke the program’s all-time assists record in Saturday’s win over the Bears.
“There is no one like her,” ISU head coach Bill Fennelly told reporters about Ryan after Saturday’s triumph. “Never will be.”
There are, however, a lot of links to my recent articles on the Cyclone men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as the wrestling squad. Please find them below. Also, please consider supporting The Cedar Rapids Gazette, an independently owned newspaper that features great reporting.
My latest ISU men’s basketball story
Women’s basketball
Wrestling
https://cyclonefanatic.com/2024/03/will-feldkamp-isus-old-man-hopes-to-help-the-cyclones-win-their-first-big-12-title-since-2009/
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