KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Audi Crooks had 25 points, Addy Brown added 16 and fourth-seeded Iowa State romped to an 85-68 victory over top-seeded and No. 19 Oklahoma on Monday, giving the Cyclones a chance to defend their women’s Big 12 Tournament title.
Iowa
Crooks scores 25 as Iowa State beats top-seeded Oklahoma 85-68 in women's Big 12 semifinals
Payton Verhulst had 23 points for the Sooners (22-9), who will head to the SEC next season having lost their last seven Big 12 semifinals. Sahara Williams added 16 points and league co-player of the year Skylar Vann finished with 12.
Iowa State overcame 21 turnovers by shooting 12 of 23 from the 3-point arc.
The Cyclones set the tone with Crooks in the paint early on — she had 11 points in the first half — and that opened things up from the perimeter, where they drilled seven of those 3-pointers in the first half while building a 38-24 advantage.
It was the biggest halftime deficit cold-shooting Oklahoma had faced all season.
But unlike earlier this season, when the Sooners raced from the locker room and used a big second-half to win easily in Ames, Iowa, the Cyclones kept momentum on their side. They outscored Big 12 coach of the year Jennie Baranczyk’s team 14-3 to start the second half, pushing their lead to 62-43 by the time the fourth quarter rolled around.
In fact, Iowa State’s only misstep came when Ryan missed a free throw, snapping her streak of 34 consecutive makes.
The Cyclones rolled from there into the championship game against the Wildcats or Longhorns.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball