Iowa State women’s basketball team advances to Big 12 title game with win over Oklahoma

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Iowa State freshman Addy Brown dribbled around the top of the key as the seconds ticked down near the end of the first half Monday against Oklahoma. Brown found an open spot and unleashed a long 3-point shot.

Brown kept her hand skyward long after the ball swished through the net, then pushed it up a little higher to pump up the crowd and ignite the frenzied fan base of Iowa State as the Cyclones rolled into halftime with a 14-point lead.

The basket was as close to a knockout punch as there could have been. No. 4 seed Iowa State never looked back during a 85-68 victory over the top-seeded Sooners in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals. The victory moved the defending champion Cyclones into Tuesday’s championship game for the second straight season.

Iowa State, which has won six straight games, had to fight its way through a close call against Baylor in the semifinals on Saturday. Monday’s game was supposed to be just as difficult with the Cyclones taking on the Big 12’s regular-season champion − a team that rolled to a commanding win in Ames on Feb. 10.

But Iowa State had no issues with the 21st-ranked Sooners this time around.

The Cyclones had trouble getting stops and scoring during their first matchup, but they did whatever they wanted in both areas Monday. They even managed to slow down an Oklahoma team that has one of the top scoring offenses in the nation. The Sooners entered Monday’s matchup averaging 77.1 points per game, but couldn’t get going in the league semifinals.

Oklahoma shot 29% (10-for-34) from the floor in the first half, including 2-of-14 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the Sooners could not slow down Iowa State. The Cyclones set the tone early by going on a 15-0 run to take a commanding 17-5 lead. Audi Crooks, who finished with 25 points, hit a rare 3-pointer during the run that included five straight makes for Iowa State.

Iowa State closed out the second quarter on a 7-0 run that was capped off by Brown’s 3-pointer to give Iowa State a 38-24 lead at halftime. Iowa State rattled off another big run in the third quarter, going on a 9-0 run to take a 49-26 lead. Even a full-court press by Oklahoma, a move that caused the Cyclones all sorts of problems in their win over Baylor, couldn’t stop Bill Fennelly’s team the rest of the second half.

Brown finished with 16. Emily Ryan had 12 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for the Cyclones.

What’s next? The Cyclones are likely hoping for K-State

Iowa State will face the winner of Monday’s Texas-Kansas State semifinal at 8 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN2). The Cyclones might be quietly pulling for a Wildcats upset. Texas posed problems for Iowa State in an 81-60 rout on Feb. 17 in Austin. Kansas State, meanwhile, lost twice to Iowa State during the regular season. One of those Cyclone wins was a double-overtime thriller in Ames. The other was a road victory at Kansas State two weeks ago.

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.