The opening night of the women’s NCAA tournament belonged to Audi Crooks, a freshman post player for Iowa State.
Her No. 7 Cyclones trailed No. 10 Maryland by as much as 20 points on Friday night in Palo Alto, California. And then, Crooks put the team on her back. The 6-foot-3 Iowa native – the first player in program history to earn an AP All-America honorable mention as a freshman – scored a career-high 40 points on 18-of-20 shooting to lead the Cyclones to a 93-86 win.
Crooks scored 22 of those points in the second half on a perfect 10-of-10 shooting. Iowa State kept giving her the ball and she kept scoring.
The 40 points scored by Crooks are the most by any player in their first NCAA tournament game in at least 25 years, according to ESPN. Crooks’ performance, which also included 12 rebounds, helped Iowa State complete the second-largest comeback victory in the history of the tournament – topped only by Texas A&M’s 21-point comeback win over Penn in 2017.
Crooks is also, according to ESPN, the first player in NCAA tournament history with at least 40 points on 90% shooting.
“She dropped 40 on 20 shots. That’s pretty eye-popping right there. It was a special night for her,” said Iowa State point guard Emily Ryan, who had 14 assists. “I think that’s just a credit to the attention that Audi draws inside. When we throw it in there, she gets it every time and she finishes it so well.”
And Crooks’ big game garnered her praise from fans, media and some of the sport’s brightest stars.
This tweet is simply an Audi Crooks appreciation tweet‼️ pure dominance this game
— Aliyah A. Boston (@aa_boston) March 23, 2024
I fell in love with @AudiCrooks game when I called @CycloneWBB v @IowaWBB in December. The freshman has a career high in points in her first NCAA tournament game.
— Rebecca Lobo (@RebeccaLobo) March 23, 2024
Headline: Star women's basketball player from Iowa dominates NCAA tournament game.
That's right, Audi Crooks.
— marisa ingemi ✨ (@Marisa_Ingemi) March 23, 2024
Crooks’ performance also called for a wild celebration:
BIG TIME PLAYS. BIG TIME CELEBRATIONS. 🎉#MarchMadness x @CycloneWBB pic.twitter.com/2LNiX8veCe
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 23, 2024
And it made Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly reminisce about the Mexican restaurant he ate at while he visited with Crooks on a recruiting trip:
Bill Fennelly on the restaurant he frequented when recruiting Audi Crooks: pic.twitter.com/GyD94YaoJP
— Talia Goodman (@goodmansport) March 23, 2024
This writer would also like to point out that Crooks made one of his bold predictions come true.