KANSAS CITY, Mo. – As the Iowa State women’s basketball team dealt with several huge injuries during the regular season, the Cyclones clung to the hope that with at least a mostly full roster, they would be able to make some noise in March and still accomplish some great things.
But the Cyclones showed March 5 that even a healthy roster couldn’t save the day.
Iowa State fell into a large hole early and couldn’t climb out of it, suffering a 77-68 upset loss to 10-seed Arizona State in the second round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament at the T-Mobile Center.
“They did things to us that we struggle with,” said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly.
Audi Crooks scored 21 points for 7-seed Iowa State, which fell to 22-9 on the season. The Cyclones have been projected to receive an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, but now will wait to learn their fate on Selection Sunday (March 15). Iowa State’s early exit at the conference tournament, after getting a first-round bye, won’t help the Cyclones’ chances.
0 … Audi Crooks field goals in the first half
Arizona State put all kinds of defensive pressure on Crooks. The Sun Devils constantly brought triple teams on Crooks, who entered the game averaging 25.6 points per game to lead the Big 12. The constant pressure made it difficult for Iowa State to get the ball to Crooks throughout the evening, but especially the first half. Crooks had just four points at halftime, all at the free-throw line, and missed the lone field-goal attempt she took. Her first field goal came early in the third quarter. Crooks finished with a team-high 21 points.
“It was very packed,” Crooks said. “Very packed in the paint for me tonight. Yeah, let’s just leave it at that.”
19.4% … Iowa State’s percentage from 3-point range
With Arizona State deploying so much pressure on Crooks, that turned the attention to Iowa State’s 3-point shooting. The Cyclones entered the tournament as the best shooting team in the league from beyond the arc, connecting on 37% of their shots from distance. Thursday was a different story. Iowa State connected on just three in the first half and finished the game shooting 19.4% (7-for-36) from beyond the arc. Cyclones star Addy Brown (2-for-11 from long range) had no answer for the issues.
“I don’t know,” Brown said. “We usually make those shots. You wish you could get them back. But you can’t.”
8 minutes and 24 seconds … Iowa State’s scoring drought in the first quarter
The first quarter couldn’t have gone much worse for the Cyclones, who trailed 17-9 after 10 minutes. Iowa State’s biggest issue was a long scoring drought that lasted 8 minutes and 24 seconds. Cyclones point guard Jada Williams knocked down a jumper 58 seconds into the game. Iowa State didn’t tally another field goal until Kenzie Hare connected on a 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining in the quarter. In between, Iowa State missed eight shots. The quarter ended with the Cyclones tallying just nine points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field including 1-of-8 from 3-point range.
“Everything,” Fennelly said when asked what went wrong for Iowa State during Arizona State’s run.
68% … Iowa State’s free-throw percentage
With Iowa State struggling to get Crooks going and failing to get any consistent shooting from beyond the arc, the Cyclones had a chance to do some damage at the free-throw line. The errant shooting carried over to the charity stripe, with Iowa State finishing just 68% (17-for-25). Arizona State, meanwhile, flourished at the line, connecting on 23-of-28 attempts.
“That’s the great thing and the frustrating thing about basketball,” Fennelly said. “It’s a shot-making game and we didn’t make it tonight.”
64.3% … Arizona State’s third-quarter shooting percentage
Despite all of Iowa State’s first-half issues, the Cyclones managed to stay in the game because of Arizona State’s early shooting struggles of its own. The Sun Devils connected on just 1-of-6 shots from beyond the arc and 13-of-33 shots from the field in the first half. Arizona State took off in the third quarter, connecting on 64.3% (9-of-14) shots from the field and keeping Iowa State at bay even as the Cyclones started to get into a rhythm offensively.
“We’re a dangerous team right now,” said Arizona State coach Molly Miller.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 5 key stats from Iowa State’s loss to Arizona State at Big 12 Tournament
Reporting by Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
