Iowa
Iowa State women’s basketball: Cyclones running out of time to tally marquee win
Addy Brown talks about Iowa State’s missed shots against K-State and TCU
Iowa State’s Addy Brown on her team nearly knocking off Kansas State and TCU
AMES – The Iowa State women’s basketball team is running out of opportunities to tally a much-needed marquee victory this season. The Cyclones suffered their second ranked loss of the week with an 82-69 defeat to No. 9 TCU at Hilton Coliseum on Sunday.
With the loss, Iowa State fell to 15-9 on the season including 6-5 in Big 12 Conference play. The Cyclones dropped to 0-6 against ranked opponents and have yet to pick up a Quad 1 victory to spruce up their NCAA Tournament resume. Which means time is ticking for Iowa State to get one.
“Obviously we don’t feel great about that,” Iowa State’s Audi Crooks said of the week that also included a loss at No. 11 Kansas State. “That’s not how we planned on the week going. However, that is the reality. That is the situation. We had opportunities in both games to honestly win the games.”
Iowa State couldn’t capitalize on either of them, and that has left the Cyclones’ postseason future hanging in the balance. The Cyclones entered Sunday’s game with TCU on the NCAA Tournament bubble in ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme’s latest projections.
Creme, who had the Cyclones among his last four teams in, told the Register earlier in the week that Iowa State could possibly get off the bubble if it could pick up a victory over Kansas State or TCU.
Iowa State has struggled against ranked opponents throughout the season, getting pummeled by South Carolina, UConn and West Virginia and losing a closer game at Iowa.
While Iowa State hasn’t suffered any truly ugly losses so far this season, the Cyclones are in desperate need of picking up a signature win. They nearly got it when they took Kansas State to overtime on Thursday. The Cyclones had a chance to win the game but a 3-pointer by point guard Emily Ryan was off the mark.
Iowa State then had its chances Sunday. The Cyclones held TCU star Sedona Prince scoreless before she fouled out. Iowa State trailed by one at halftime and cut TCU’s lead to four in the fourth quarter. But the Cyclones couldn’t get the lead. The loss felt similar to the game at K-State.
“We’re right there in the game, throughout almost the whole game,” said Iowa State’s Addy Brown. “Like, we’ve just got to clean up the little things, a few things, five to eight minutes worth of the game and the game is ours.”
Iowa State’s Audi Crooks talks about her team’s loss to TCU
Iowa State’s Audi Crooks looks back on her team’s loss to TCU
The near-upsets may ultimately help the Cyclones, who are benefiting from what Creme believes is a weak bubble group this season. Losing to K-State and TCU may not prevent Iowa State from getting in. But it did stop the Cyclones from potentially solidifying a spot.
Now the Cyclones are running out of chances to improve their resume. Iowa State has just one more ranked opponent on its schedule, the regular-season finale with Kansas State at home on March 2. The Cyclones also travel to Baylor, which would be a nice victory. But Wednesday’s game at Cincinnati and Saturday’s contest with Colorado likely won’t do much to help Iowa State’s resume.
The Cyclones also have Kansas, Houston and UCF remaining. Those games won’t help Iowa State’s resume, but an ugly loss would certainly hurt it. Iowa State has done a good job of beating the teams it’s supposed to beat. The Cyclones will try to continue that trend.
While Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said he doesn’t pay attention to his team’s postseason picture or games down the line, he did acknowledge there are still possibilities for his team to make up ground.
“If you look at the big picture, we don’t have a bad loss … and we have whatever, seven more opportunities to play in a Big 12 game,” Fennelly said. “There’s still opportunities there for us to do some good things.”
Crooks scored 29 points, but needed 26 shots to do it
Iowa State’s sophomore star poured in 29 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out two assists in the loss. But Crooks was not efficient with her shots, connecting on just 12-of-26 from the field. Finishing near the basket was a big issue for the Cyclones, and it certainly plagued Crooks for most of Sunday.
“You can’t miss 14 shots around the basket,” Fennelly said.
Crooks and Addy Brown carried the scoring load for Iowa State
Crooks and Addy Brown combined to score 60 of Iowa State’s 69 points. Brown finished with 31 on 11-of-16 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Then there was the 29-point performance from Crooks.
The problem for the Cyclones: Hardly anyone else contributed.
Kelsey Joens and Arianna Jackson both chipped in with three points. Emily Ryan added two. Alisa Williams had one. The eight other players who saw the court combined to shoot just 2-of-9 from the field. Crooks and Brown combined for 86.9% of Iowa State’s scoring and had all 33 of Iowa State’s second-half points.
“Obviously we’ve got to have some people step up and I think they’re more than capable,” Brown said. “We’re just waiting. We’re believing in them and we’re just going to have the utmost confidence in them because that’s what they need and I think they’re more than capable and they’re going to step up because that’s what the coaches are asking them to do.”
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468
Iowa
Vote: Who Should be Iowa’s High School Athlete of the Week? (4/19/2026)
Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for April 13-18. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.
Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:
Taylor Roose, Pella boys track and field
Roose competed in three events at the Norwalk Invitational, winning all three in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and long jump.
Daxon Kiesau, Urbandale boys track and field
Kiesau swept the throwing events at the Norwalk Invitational, taking first place in the shot put and the discus.
Alex Burger, Southeast Valley boys track and field
Competing at home, Burger dominated, earning four gold medals. He won the 400-meter hurdles and the long jump while running on the winning 4×200-meter relay and shuttle hurdle relay.
Kolby Hodnefield, Clear Lake boys track and field
Hodenfield, a defending state champion, broke the meet, venue and school record in the 200 and the 400 at the Clear Lake Invitational. He added victories as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Both relays also set meet records.
Easton Moon, North Polk boys tennis
Moon has started off his senior season on the courts unbeaten, winning all four matches while dropping just one game in 44 played.
Ava Lohrbach, Gilbert girls golf
One of the top golfers in the state, Lohrbach has had a hot start, firing a 35 in her nine-hole debut and a 72 for her 18-hole opener.
Nathan Manske, Algona boys golf
An elite quarterback and basketball player, Manske is showing his golfing skills this spring, coming out with a state-low 30 in a nine-hole event.
Ella Hein, Tipton girls track and field
Hein set school records in the 400-meter run and long jump at the Tiger/Tigerette Relays while also locking in the Blue Standard and qualifying for the Drake Relays. She won the long jump (18-6) and was second in the 400.
Maeve Bowen-Burt, Iowa City High girls track and field
The sophomore helped the Little Hawks land three Drake Relays events on the last night of qualifying, advancing in the 400 hurdles, along with the sprint medley and 4×400 relays.
About Our Athlete of the Week Voting
High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.
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Iowa
Houston icon George Foreman laid to rest in Iowa, drawn by a peaceful 1988 visit
The late boxing great George Foreman lies buried in a cemetery in the northwestern corner of Iowa – a place he has no connection to outside of a lone visit to the region nearly 40 years ago.
Foreman died March 21, 2025, at the age of 76 in Houston and was buried in Logan Park Cemetery at Sioux City, Iowa, a month later, city officials confirmed. Foreman’s family returned Thursday to his burial site, holding a news conference with Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott to reveal Foreman’s burial place, marked by a large monument that bears an image of him as a teen following his Olympic gold medal boxing win.
The family explained in a statement released by Sioux City officials that he had visited the Iowa city in 1988, and often recalled the sense of peace he experienced there.
After traveling to the city on April 17 last year to bury Foreman, his family said they immediately understood the region’s appeal.
“Our father lived a life of purpose, faith and gratitude,” the family said in a statement released by Sioux City officials. “To see him laid to rest in a place that brought him peace means everything to us.”
Scott joined the family at Foreman’s monument that lies just a few miles north of the Missouri River in an upper Midwest city of nearly 87,000 people. The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).
“Their story is a reminder of how one place can stay with someone for a lifetime,” Scott said.
A native Texan, Foreman rose to fame when he made the 1968 U.S. Olympic boxing team, winning gold in Mexico City. He became the heavyweight champion of the world in 1973 by defeating the great Joe Frazier, only to lose the title a year later to Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”
A full 20 years later in 1994, Foreman became the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship at 45, defeating Michael Moorer in an epic upset.
Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 career record.
He then moved on to the next chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor, becoming known to a new generation as the face of the George Foreman Grill. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and brought him more wealth than boxing.
A biographical movie based on Foreman’s life was released in 2023.
Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Iowa
GOP governor candidate Zach Lahn pitches Iowa-first platform at Dubuque town hall
DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) — About 50 Iowans braved the threat of severe storms to hear from Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn at his town hall in Dubuque Friday night.
Lahn, a farmer and businessman, said his campaign is about solving the long-term systemic issues facing Iowans.
One priority is addressing what Lahn calls a cancer crisis in Iowa, as the state has the second-highest cancer rate in the country. Solving the crisis means ensuring Iowans have access to clean, nitrate-free drinking water, working with farmers to reduce agricultural runoff.
“Iowans are just ready for something that they should be able to count on, like clean drinking water,” Lahn said. “We have ways to clean up the drinking water in Iowa that isn’t on the backs of farmers, but is working alongside with them because they’re drinking the water too, and they want to do what’s right.”
Lahn also wants to stop Iowa’s “brain drain,” as more of Iowa’s college graduates left the state for opportunities elsewhere.
“Don’t leave! Give me some time! I’m going to fight to keep you here,” Lahn said. “I was one of these kids. I thought I had to leave the state to find something better. We have to prioritize Iowa’s incentive dollars to make sure they’re going to grow Iowa businesses that are going to be here for the long haul, so our kids have places to work.”
Running a distinct campaign feels challenging this election, as Lahn is one of five GOP candidates who want to be Iowa’s next governor, facing U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, former Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen, state Rep. Eddie Andrews and former state Rep. Brad Sherman.
Iowa Auditor Rob Sand is the only Democrat running for the state’s top office.
Lahn said he stands out by promising Iowa will be for Iowans, pledging to ban the use of eminent domain for private gain and tax out-of-state landowners and data centers at higher rates to lower property taxes.
“It always goes back to follow the money, so when it comes to not being a weak-kneed Republican today, I believe the paramount piece of that is answering only to the citizens of Iowa, not to special interests to pad their bottom line, but what’s best for the people of Iowa,” Lahn said.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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