Oklahoma Sooners vs Iowa State Cyclones
Crooks scores 25 as Iowa State beats top-seeded Oklahoma 85-68 in women's Big 12 semifinals
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.
Emily Ryan added 12 points and 10 assists for the Cyclones (20-10), who beat the Sooners in last year's semifinals before topping Texas for the title. Iowa State will now get a rematch Tuesday night against the No. 6 Longhorns, who beat Kansas State in their semifinal later in the day.
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 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
Game Information
Kansas City, MO
Referee:Dee Kantner
Referee:Julie Krommenhoek
Referee:Brian Hall
2025-26 Standings
| Big 12 ConferenceBig 12 Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 11-3 | - | 21-5 |
| Texas Tech | 10-3 | 0.5 | 23-3 |
| TCU | 10-3 | 0.5 | 22-4 |
| Baylor | 10-3 | 0.5 | 21-5 |
| Oklahoma State | 8-5 | 2.5 | 19-7 |
| Colorado | 8-5 | 2.5 | 17-8 |
| Arizona State | 8-6 | 3 | 21-6 |
| Iowa State | 7-6 | 3.5 | 19-6 |
| Utah | 7-6 | 3.5 | 16-9 |
| Kansas State | 7-6 | 3.5 | 14-12 |
| BYU | 6-7 | 4.5 | 17-8 |
| Kansas | 5-9 | 6 | 15-11 |
| Cincinnati | 4-9 | 6.5 | 9-16 |
| UCF | 2-11 | 8.5 | 10-14 |
| Arizona | 2-12 | 9 | 11-14 |
| Houston | 1-12 | 9.5 | 7-17 |
| Southeastern ConferenceSoutheastern Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | 10-1 | - | 24-2 |
| Vanderbilt | 10-2 | 0.5 | 24-2 |
| Tennessee | 8-2 | 1.5 | 16-6 |
| Texas | 8-3 | 2 | 23-3 |
| LSU | 8-3 | 2 | 22-3 |
| Ole Miss | 7-3 | 2.5 | 20-5 |
| Alabama | 6-5 | 4 | 20-5 |
| Oklahoma | 6-5 | 4 | 18-6 |
| Kentucky | 6-6 | 4.5 | 19-7 |
| Georgia | 5-6 | 5 | 19-6 |
| Mississippi State | 4-7 | 6 | 17-8 |
| Missouri | 4-8 | 6.5 | 16-11 |
| Florida | 3-9 | 7.5 | 15-12 |
| Auburn | 2-9 | 8 | 13-12 |
| Texas A&M | 2-9 | 8 | 9-11 |
| Arkansas | 0-11 | 10 | 11-15 |
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