Oklahoma
THE CROOKS EFFECT: Iowa State taps multiple scoring sources to beat Oklahoma State, 78-67
Iowa State Cyclones guard Emily Ryan (11) drives to the basket around Oklahoma State Cowgirls guard Quincy Noble (0) and forward Praise Egharevba (24) during the third quarter in the Big-12 conference matchup at Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
AMES — Another night, another new career high in scoring for Audi Crooks.
And Iowa State needed every one of the freshman center’s 29 points to fully put away Oklahoma State, 78-67, Wednesday before a crowd of 9,962 at Hilton Coliseum.
“Her footwork. her hands — she’s just so skilled and she’s physical,” Cowgirls coach Jacie Hoyt said. “I mean, she’s good and when you put 3-point shooters around her, that’s just a pick-your-poison situation.”
The Cyclones (13-7, 7-3 Big 12) tapped a variety of sources to plague Oklahoma State (11-10, 4-6) and snap a three-game skid. Senior point guard Emily Ryan nearly notched a triple-double with nine points, nine rebounds and 14 assists, and freshman Addy Brown produced a stat line of 14 points, eight rebounds and nine assists to help clip the injury-depleted Cowgirls.
“We seemed to make (shots) when we really needed to make them,” said ISU head coach Bill Fennelly, whose team completed a regular-season sweep of Oklahoma State. “We struggled a little bit, but it just seemed like AJ (Arianna Jackson) would hit one, Hannah (Belanger) would hit one, Addy Brown would hit one, Emily Ryan would hit one right at the right time. So you were up four to seven, five to eight, eight to 11.”
So as good as Crooks was — 14 of 21 from the field, while adding eight rebounds — the players around her proved to be difference-makers, as well. Jackson, for instance, drilled 4 of her 8 3-point attempts in critical moments and Brown scored five points to spur a 10-0 run that turned a 47-42 third-quarter deficit into a 52-47 advantage the Cyclones would never relinquish.
“They started knocking down 3s when Oklahoma State started bringing that double team,” Crooks said. “So they couldn’t quite double (after that), and I just think we kept them on their toes all night because we’d go inside and then we’d go outside, so tonight is not possible without the guards.”
Brown and Ryan combined for 14 of ISU’s 27 assists on 32 made baskets. That’s a staggering rate of sharing and it helped the Cyclones both withstand the Cowgirls’ third-quarter surge and pull away late.
“(Crooks) is so unselfish (and) she’s willing to kick it out,” Ryan said. “So even if she doesn’t get the ball, she’s opening so much up for everyone else, so she did her thing inside and that opened a lot up for AJ, Addy and myself, and everyone else. So credit to Audi for going to work tonight and everyone else stepped up and hit shots when they were open.”
ISU also excelled in taking care of the basketball, committing just four turnovers in the final three quarters after losing possession six times in the first. The Cyclones allowed Oklahoma State to score just 11 points off of turnovers — or seven lower than the average given up in their three consecutive conference losses.
“Emily and AJ did a really good job,” Fennelly said. “And when you add Addy Brown, you can facilitate offense from different spots. But that’s a huge number for us, to keep that number down.”
The Cyclones improved to 5-0 at Hilton Coliseum in Big 12 play and will travel to league newcomer UCF (10-9, 1-8) on Saturday.
“I’m not a big ‘must-win’ guy,” Fennelly said. “To me, the must-win is the win you have to have to continue your season. But if you look at the grand scheme of things, this (was) pretty damn close to that.”
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026
Steve McGehee reports live from Paycom Center with the latest on SGA’s return after missing nine games, the Thunder’s push to hold the top spot in the Western Conference, and what getting healthy means for OKC’s title hopes.
Oklahoma
How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason
Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy experienced great success during his first year in Norman.
Nagy, who joined OU’s staff in February 2025, oversaw the Sooners’ scouting staff as Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. He also helped OU sign a top-15 2026 recruiting class and land several key transfer portal players after the 2025 season.
Though the wins outweighed the losses in Nagy’s first year, the Sooners’ general manager knew that there was much to fortify during the offseason.
Oklahoma’s offense sputtered late in the season, as the Sooners scored fewer than 25 points in each of their last four games.
For Nagy, a major focus was surrounding OU quarterback John Mateer with quality talent.
“(We wanted to) just really put more around John Mateer,” Nagy said on The Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF on Friday.
Nagy and his scouting team added plenty of pieces from the portal that should elevate Oklahoma’s offense.
The Sooners signed three portal wideouts — Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State) — after the 2025 season to join returning receivers Isaiah Sategna, Jer’Michael Carter and Jacob Jordan.
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Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas after the 2024 season, served as Mateer’s safety net in 2025. The receiver finished the year with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches.
Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at the Power Four level, and Nagy believes that those two will make OU’s receiving corps stronger in 2026.
“Those two, we’re very excited about both of those guys,” Nagy said.
Nagy also did plenty of work to ensure that OU’s run game improves in 2026.
The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — from the portal. They also added three transfer offensive linemen: Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky), E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech).
OU will have its two top running backs from the 2025 squad, Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, back in 2026.
For those two to reach their full potential, the Sooners’ blockers will have to regularly open up running lanes — and Nagy is confident that they will.
“We have to run the ball better, there’s no way around that,” Nagy said. “Our job is to create more competition in every room in the offseason. I feel like we’ve done that.”
On the show, Nagy revealed that the Sooners added nearly 9,000 collegiate snaps to their roster during the offseason.
The general manager believes that both sides of the ball will be stronger as a result of his scouting team’s offseason efforts and their collaboration with OU’s coaching staff.
“I’ve tried to be really intentional with our communication,” Nagy said. “There’s a common goal: We’re trying to win a national championship. This is a true partnership, and we all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to continue to evolve and get better.”
Oklahoma will open its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.
Oklahoma
Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion
Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time OSSAA wrestling state champion
Elgin’s Ritson Meyer beat Coweta’s Aiven Robbins 8-7 in the Oklahoma high school wrestling Class 5A 215-pound finals on Saturday, Feb. 28, becoming a four-time state champion.
The loss was on Ritson Meyer’s mind all week as he prepared for his final state wrestling tournament.
A senior 215-pounder at Elgin, Meyer isn’t used to getting beaten, but he got a wake-up call when he lost against Coweta senior Aiven Robbins by five points in their regional championship match.
For Meyer, it set in that winning his fourth state championship wouldn’t be an easy task.
“I lost to him last week and I’m not a loser, so it was eating on me all week in practice,” Meyer said. “So (in) practice, I really leveled up everything. Everything about it.”
Meyer and Robbins met again on Saturday, this time with the Class 5A state championship on the line.
Intensely focused from the start, Meyer came out aggressive. And although it was another great match, Meyer did just enough to etch his name in the state history books.
Meyer held on to beat Robbins in an 8-7 decision in the new OG&E Coliseum as he claimed his fourth state championship, while Coweta won the team title.
An Abilene Christian football signee, Meyer’s wrestling days are over, but he leaves the sport with satisfaction.
“I came out here — even though it hurt, even though I was tired — I got it done,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy. I got to celebrate with my parents, my family, my friends. It’s a crazy feeling.”
A standout running back and linebacker on the gridiron, Meyer helped his team win the Class 4A state title in football as a junior before Elgin lost to Tuttle 23-20 in the 2025 championship game in December.
It’s a different sport, but that loss fueled Meyer’s wrestling season in a way.
“I like to tell people that wrestling is like offseason football,” Meyer said. “I can’t go out, lose. Everybody wanted me to win this. I won it for the whole entire community. First four-timer at Elgin. And that football (loss) really did eat me alive. It didn’t feel good at all, and I didn’t want that same feeling again.”
Meyer had a great start against Robbins on Saturday and never trailed, but Robbins battled to set up a great finish and both were gassed when it was over.
“I just gave it my all,” Meyer said, “and I got it done.”
This article will be updated.
Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at@nicksardis. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
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