All of the women’s basketball coaches in the Big 12 Conference agree: Iowa State’s Audi Crooks is one of the best players in the league.
Crooks, a junior center star for the Cyclones, was voted unanimously to the first-team All-Big 12 team, the league announced on March 3.
The awards were voted on by the conference’s head coaches, who could not pick their own players. Crooks appeared on every ballot she could be on.
She wasn’t the only one from Iowa State recognized. Iowa State point guard Jada Williams was also named to the first team, which included 10 players. Cyclones guard Arianna Jackson was named the Big 12 scholar-athlete of the year.
They are all big honors for the three players, who helped Iowa State compile a 22-8 record this season including 10-8 mark in Big 12 Conference play.
Crooks, an Algona native, led the league in scoring, averaging 25.6 points per game. She tallied four 40-point games this season and set Iowa State’s single-game scoring record by pouring in 47 points in a win against Indiana.
Crooks also became the fastest player in Big 12 history to reach 2,000 points, reaching the milestone on Jan. 28 against Texas Tech.
Williams, a transfer from Arizona, has shined in her first season at Iowa State, leading the Big 12 in assists, averaging 7.7 a game. She also finished the regular season with a 2.25 assist/turnover ratio, second-best in the league.
The point guard finished her first regular season at Iowa State with eight double-doubles and broke Iowa State’s Big 12 single-game scoring record with 44 points on 15-of-22 shooting against Cincinnati on Jan. 21.
Jackson is a former star at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines. She ranks third nationally and second in the conference in 3-point percentage (.464) and hit a team-best 58 3-pointers this season.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Audi Crooks, Jada Williams and Arianna Jackson take home Big 12 awards
Reporting by Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
