The Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, goes dark, save for the jumbotron hanging high above the court. Fans decked out in cardinal and gold cheer loudly as instructed by the Iowa State Cyclones in a video that precedes team introductions.
When the lights come back on, fans are on their feet. In the middle of the court, Iowa State forms a circle for its pregame ritual. In the middle stands 6-foot-3 Cyclones center Audi Crooks with a wide smile on her face, her long, dark brown box braids swaying down her back. The beige kinesiology tape circling her left knee moves with her as she and the team sway back and forth, hyping themselves up for this mid-November matchup against St. Thomas.
Moments later, Crooks is in game mode. Her infectious smile is replaced with serious concentration as she shifts from one foot to the other in the tip-off circle. On the Cyclones' third possession, created by a Crooks rebound, she gets the ball from guard Emily Ryan, creates room and spins into a fadeaway jumper for her first points of the game.
Iowa State hits its rhythm early. In the second quarter, an Addy Brown defensive rebound results in a layup by Crooks. It's something that happens often in games.
"I think she just brings an undeniable force in the paint," Brown said. "She's really hard to stop obviously when she gets the ball. Low in the paint, it's going in. I think we just kind of since Day 1 had that connection. I understand her. I probably know what she's going to do before she does it, and vice versa. So we just make sure we're on the same page and always looking for each other."
Crooks is maintaining the momentum from a breakout freshman season, now leading the Cyclones with an average of 21.7 points.
"I would say this team is really close on and off the court and I think if you're able to form a good bond off the court, you're going to see that on the court," Crooks tells reporters after the 80-47 win against St. Thomas, in which she scored 26 points. "As far as trust goes, I kind of know what Syd [Harris] is going to do before she does it and vice versa. Emily Ryan sees the play before it even develops.
"When you're on the court with people that you trust, that you know are going to show up every day and work alongside you ... everything just clicks a lot better."
That closeness is helping the Cyclones, who entered the season at No. 8 in the AP women's poll, gain traction with a young, healthy team. Crooks, a unanimous pick for USA Today's preseason All-Big 12 team, plays a key role in that.
Last season, Iowa State turned heads with an impressive run, finishing 12-6 in the Big 12 and 21-12 overall before falling to Stanford in the second round of the women's NCAA tournament. Crooks, who was Iowa State's leading scorer with 635 points last season, to go with 259 rebounds and 34 assists, became a breakout star in the first round with 40 points in the Cyclones' 93-86 victory over Maryland.
"People knew she was good, and she had some attention regionally in the Big 12," Coach Bill Fennelly said. "But that game and then how she handled the Stanford game, I think every time zone figured out about her after."
This season, Crooks has taken more of a laid-back approach, not wanting to put too much pressure on herself but committing to improving in certain areas, including expanding her range defensively. "There's no bar, there's no ceiling," she said after the St. Thomas game. "I refuse to set a limit as far as what I can do so just taking each day and getting better each day, putting a good product out on the floor consistently."
Fennelly, who signed four players from the transfer portal this spring, says he's pleased with his team's on-ball defense and rotations.
"We have some depth that we haven't had in the past," Fennelly said. "I think that's a big thing. And I think that our players have a much better understanding of what it takes at the collegiate level. Last year, every day was new to them."
Harris, who played last season at TCU, is one of Fennelly's portal signings. "There's a lot of teams I don't think can say everyone, all 12 of us, get along fantastic off the court, and I think that's something that we have that a lot of teams don't," Harris said.
"The chemistry's been really good," Fennelly said. "Our practices have been spirited and I really am very pleased."
The Cyclones will need that togetherness when they face No. 4 South Carolina at the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Thursday. Iowa State won its first four games this season before a stunning upset on the road at Northern Iowa a week ago. Crooks had 22 points and 10 rebounds, but the Panthers kept her in check as they went on a tear in the second half.
Brown believes the loss to Northern Iowa, followed by a competitive win over Drake in which she scored 13 and Crooks had 33, including the game-winner as time expired, came at the perfect time.
"It's going to be a super competitive game," Brown said of South Carolina, which was knocked out of the top spot after a loss to UCLA on Sunday. "We're going to give it our best. Obviously, they're going to give it their best, especially coming off a tough loss, so we've got to be ready for that. I think our attention to detail will be a little higher, just because they are such a great team."
Now 5-1 and ranked 11th, Fennelly said the Cyclones are anticipating a great challenge from the defending champs.
"I think our team will be ready to go," he said, "and hopefully show the folks we can compete."