Emily Ryan breaks career assist record as Iowa State women's basketball beats Baylor
Updated: 1:39 PM CST Mar 9, 2024
EIGHT NEWS AT TEN ALGONA AUDI CROOKS IS OFF TO A STRONG START AT IOWA STATE. THE CYCLONE FRESHMAN CENTER IS QUICKLY BECOMING ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE BIG 12 CONFERENCE. HER DESIRE TO BE GREAT IS MATCHED ONLY BY THE HARD WORK SHE PUTS IN TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS. BUT SHEāS NOT ALONE IN HER QUEST. THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE ALWAYS WATCHING OUT FOR HER. ITāS THE CYCLONES FINAL GAME OF JANUARY, AND ISUāS NUMBER 55 IS ONCE AGAIN PUTTING ON A SHOW THOUSANDS WATCH AS SHE CONTINUES BUILDING HER OWN LEGACY WHILE ADDING TO ONE TWO. MY DAD WAS NUMBER 55. MY MOM WAS NUMBER 55. AND AS I STARTED TO EMERGE IN JUNIOR HIGH IN HIGH SCHOOL, THEY ASKED, WHAT NUMBER DO YOU WANT? IT WAS AN EASY ANSWER FOR ME. 55 MOM IS NOW MICHELLE COOK, ALWAYS IN THE CROWD. I LOVE GOING TO ALL THE GAMES. ONE OF AUDIāS BIGGEST FANS. BUT AS MICHELLE VITZTHUM, I COULD HOLD MY OWN. SHEāS THE NUMBER 55 PICTURED HERE, PART OF BISHOP GARRIGANāS 2001 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM. JUST LIKE AUDI, I WAS SURROUNDED BY OTHER GOOD PLAYERS AND I WAS ONE OF THE TALLER ONES AS WELL. I HAD GOOD COACHES, MODEST, BUT ALSO SINGLED OUT ON THE SCHOOLāS RECORD BOARD FOR CAREER FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE UNTIL ITāS UPDATED BECAUSE THE CURRENT DOUBLE NICKELS KNOCKED HER OFF, SHE OBVIOUSLY CHANGED THE LANDSCAPE OF OUR OF OUR RECORD BOARD HERE AT GARRIGAN. BRANDON SCHWAB COACHED IOWAāS REIGNING MISS BASKETBALL TO TWO HIGH SCHOOL STATE TITLES. COACH SCHWAB HELPED ME, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT HIGH SCHOOL. AND HE WAS THERE. HE WAS SOMEBODY THAT I KNEW I COULD TALK TO AND RELY ON. HEāS BECOME A FIXTURE IN THE STANDS AT CYCLONE GAMES, CHEERING ON ADDIE AS A FIRST TIME SEASON TICKET HOLDER, I CONSIDER HER A FRIEND OF MINE WHO LOVES WATCHING. NUMBER 55 CONTINUE TO DOMINATE. I WANT TO SEE HER DO AS WELL IN COLLEGE AS SHE DID IN HIGH SCHOOL. YOU KNOW, SHEāS TURNING INTO A FACE OF IOWA WOMENāS BASKETBALL FOR THE STATE. WALK AROUND HER OLD HIGH SCHOOL IN ADDIEāS FACE IS TOUGH TO MISS, AND IN THE LOCKER ROOM, HER FORMER TEAMMATES FONDLY REMEMBER THE PAST. THIS WAS ALWAYS AUDIāS LOCKER BECAUSE SHE HAD THE OUTLET SHE ALWAYS PLUGGED THE SPEAKER IN, AND WE WERE ALWAYS BUMPING TO GOOD MUSIC BEFORE GAMES. THEY STILL SUPPORT 55. THE PLAYER, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY AUDI. THEYāRE FRIEND. I CALLED HER FOR ABOUT A HALF HOUR THE OTHER NIGHT. JUST TALK THROUGH STUFF. YOU KNOW. SHEāS A GREAT PERSON. SHEāS SHEāS MORE THAN A BASKETBALL PLAYER. SHEāS A GREAT FRIEND. AND THAT NUMBER THAT BOTH MOM AND AUDI STARTED AT GARRIGAN, A HOT COMMODITY IN TOWN. ITāS ITāS HER AUTHENTIC SIGNATURE. ITāS HER VISION. ITāS HER COLORS THAT SHE LOVES. ITāS ALL FOR SALE IN A STORE CALLED THREADS. WE HAVE NOW SHIPPED ANYWHERE FROM TEXAS TO CALIFORNIA ALL OVER. UM, THE MORE SHE PLAYS, THE MORE PEOPLE JUST FALL IN LOVE WITH HER OWNER, TRICIA GEARY WORKED WITH THE MOTHER DAUGHTER DUO ON EVERY DESIGN. IT WAS JUST COOL TO BE ABLE TO PUT THAT VISION AND, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I LIVE BY AND THEN TO LIKE, BE PLAYING IN HILTON AND I, YOU KNOW, IāM RUNNING BACK ON DEFENSE AND OH, SOMEBODY WEARING MY SHIRT, SOMEBODY GOT THAT ON YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY OUT THERE KNOWS WHO I AM. SOMEBODY SUPPORTING ME. I THINK THATāS PRETTY COOL. THESE FANS OF 55 ARE ALWAYS EASY TO SPOT. THEYāRE AUDIāS AUNTS, BARBARA CROOKS AND CHRIS CROOKS. ROCHA. WEāRE A CLOSE KNIT FAMILY. AND WHEN YOU SEE ONE, YOU SEE MULTIPLE OF US. THEYāRE HERE FOR THEIR NIECE. ITāS AWESOME. ITāS SO SURREAL. JUST SEEING HER JUST BATTLING AND DOING HER THING ON THE COURT AS SHE ALWAYS HAVE DONE. AND FOR THE 55 WHO CANāT BE, HE KNEW SHE WAS GOING TO BE HERE. HE HAS THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE. HE DOES AUDIāS DAD, JIMMY CROOKS, WHO STARRED AT FORT DODGE IN THE MID 80S, DIED IN 2021 WHEN SHE WAS 16. HOW MUCH DOES IT MEAN TO YOU THAT YOUāVE BEEN ABLE TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, CARRY ON THE CROOKS LEGACY ON THE BASKETBALL COURT? AND NOT JUST THAT, BUT HOW PROUD DO YOU THINK HE WOULD BE OF YOU AND WHERE YOUāVE MADE IT TODAY? YEAH. UM, SORRY. UM, NO, IT MEANS A LOT THAT I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO, TO CARRY THAT ON. AND I KNOW, I HOPE, I KNOW HEāS PROUD OF ME AND I KNOW, YOU KNOW, HEāS WATCHING, UH, FROM FROM UP ABOVE. AND IT JUST MEANS THE WORLD. UM, IāM HONORED TO TO HAVE THE SAME LAST NAME AS THAT MAN. I MEAN, HE, UH, HE GAVE ME THE FOUNDATION CARSON, UM, NOT ONLY AS A BASKETBALL PLAYER, BUT BECOMING THE WOMAN THAT I AM TODAY. I WOULDNāT BE THAT PERSON IF IT WASNāT FOR HIM. THAT PERSON IS THE ONE WEāRE ALL WATCHING NOW, ADDING TO A LEGACY. THEREāS ALREADY SO MUCH TO BE PROUD OF. AND I JUST, YOU KNOW, HAVE TO SAY I JUST ENJOYED, YOU KNOW, GETTING TO KNOW EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTS AUDI AND OF COURSE, AUDI HERSELF AND ALSO WANT TO THANK PHOTOJOURNAL
Emily Ryan breaks career assist record as Iowa State women's basketball beats Baylor
Updated: 1:39 PM CST Mar 9, 2024
Audi Crooks scored 23 points including the go-ahead basket with 41 seconds left and Emily Ryan made all eight of her free throws in the fourth quarter to help Iowa State wrap up a 67-62 win over No. 17 Baylor in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.The fourth-seeded Cyclones (19-10) will take on the winner of nine-seed TCU and No. 19-ranked and top seed Oklahoma in Monday's semifinals.Video above: Audi Crooks plays to honor family's jersey number, basketball legacyCrooks scored underneath to give Iowa State the lead and Ryan made four free throws from there to complete a 12-1 game-ending run while fifth-seeded Baylor missed its final nine shots.DreāUna Edwards hit a pair of 3s and Sarah Andrews hit another from deep to give Baylor (24-7) its largest lead, 61-55, with 3 1/2 minutes remaining. Those were Baylor's lone field goals in the final period as the Bears went 3 of 24 in the quarter. Iowa State only put up seven shots, making four, but all 11 of their free-throw attempts came in the period and they made 10.Ryan finished with 12 points and she collected her program-record 746th career assist and 10th of the game on Crooks' go-ahead basket. Ryan passed Nikki Moody (2012-15), who had 745.Addy Brown scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Iowa State, which outshot Baylor 47% to 31% and survived 22 turnovers that led to 25 Baylor points.DreāUna Edwards scored 17 points and Bella Fontleroy 14 for the Bears.Iowa State led 36-31 at halftime but an Edwards' 3-pointer gave the Bears a 50-48 lead through three quarters.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Audi Crooks scored 23 points including the go-ahead basket with 41 seconds left and Emily Ryan made all eight of her free throws in the fourth quarter to help Iowa State wrap up a 67-62 win over No. 17 Baylor in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
The fourth-seeded Cyclones (19-10) will take on the winner of nine-seed TCU and No. 19-ranked and top seed Oklahoma in Monday's semifinals.
Video above: Audi Crooks plays to honor family's jersey number, basketball legacy
Crooks scored underneath to give Iowa State the lead and Ryan made four free throws from there to complete a 12-1 game-ending run while fifth-seeded Baylor missed its final nine shots.
DreāUna Edwards hit a pair of 3s and Sarah Andrews hit another from deep to give Baylor (24-7) its largest lead, 61-55, with 3 1/2 minutes remaining. Those were Baylor's lone field goals in the final period as the Bears went 3 of 24 in the quarter. Iowa State only put up seven shots, making four, but all 11 of their free-throw attempts came in the period and they made 10.
Ryan finished with 12 points and she collected her program-record 746th career assist and 10th of the game on Crooks' go-ahead basket. Ryan passed Nikki Moody (2012-15), who had 745.
Addy Brown scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Iowa State, which outshot Baylor 47% to 31% and survived 22 turnovers that led to 25 Baylor points.
DreāUna Edwards scored 17 points and Bella Fontleroy 14 for the Bears.
Iowa State led 36-31 at halftime but an Edwards' 3-pointer gave the Bears a 50-48 lead through three quarters.