Iowa State Cyclones’ center Audi Crooks (55) shoots the ball as Kansas State Wildcats guard Brandie Harrod (3) defends during the first quarter in the Big-12 conference women’s basketball on Feb. 15, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum, in Ames, Iowa.(Photo: Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune)
Tommy Birch | Des Moines Register
AMES – When the Iowa State women’s basketball season seemed like it was unraveling during a five-game losing streak in January, reaching the 20-win mark was a distant thought.
“When you lose five in a row, I’m just hoping we win one and not worry about that,” coach Bill Fennelly said.
The Cyclones eventually got back on track and on Feb. 15 they reached that magic number. Iowa State tallied its 20th victory when the 25th-ranked Cyclones beat Kansas State 76-72 at Hilton Coliseum.
With the win, Iowa State improved to 20-6 on the season including 8-6 in Big 12 Conference play. It’s the 19th time Fennelly has reached the mark during his tenure at Iowa State.
“Twenty wins isn’t as big a deal probably as it used to be,” Fennelly said. “But I still think it is. I really do. It’s like being bowl-eligible. Twenty wins is still a number that basketball fans think is pretty good.”
The mark was especially rewarding for this Fennelly squad, which once seemed destined to fly past 20 wins. The Cyclones matched the best start in school history by opening the season with 14 straight wins.
Injuries to Iowa State starters Addy Brown and Arianna Jackson contributed to an unexpected midseason tailspin that saw the Cyclones drop five straight contests and fall out of the national rankings. Jackson eventually returned but Brown remains out indefinitely with a lower body injury.
Iowa State rallied by winning five straight games. Sunday’s win made it six out of seven for the Cyclones.
“This team is as much fun to be around as any team I’ve ever had,” Fennelly said. “I really mean that. They show up. They care about one another. There’s no drama. They do things that Iowa State teams are supposed to do.”The Cyclones have four games left in the regular season and then the Big 12 Tournament. That leaves them plenty of time to stack up more wins.
The up-and-down season for the Cyclones made their NCAA Tournament hopes look dicey at one point. After returning to their winning ways, they appear to be a lock for the tournament.
Fennelly said he knew his team had a good shot of finding its way through the tough times.
“As long as we were showing up … and working hard, we were going to figure something out,” he said. “I didn’t know what. But to be where we are in the league, to be where we are overall, speaks volumes to the effort to our team.”
Jada Williams’ biggest play may have been running out the clock
Kansas State had several opportunities to take the lead late in Sunday’s game. One of those moments came when Iowa State had the ball with under a minute to play in the fourth quarter. With the ball in the safe hands of Iowa State point guard Jada Williams, Kansas State tried trapping her to either secure a steal or get a jump ball with the possession arrow favoring the Wildcats.
Neither happened as Williams dribbled away from defenders, taking valuable time off the clock before she got fouled. Every second counted as Iowa State managed to squeak away with the four-point win.
“I used to play tag when I was little,” Williams said.
“Catch me if you can.”
Reese Beaty gets the start in place of Evangelia Paulk
The Cyclones appeared to have found a starting lineup that worked with Evangelia Paulk. The lengthy guard started five consecutive games for the Cyclones. Four of those came during the team’s bounce-back five-game winning streak. Paulk, who was on the pregame availability report as a gametime decision, ended up playing but didn’t start.
Freshman guard Reese Beaty started in Paulk’s place. She finished with three points, three assists and five rebounds in 29 minutes. Paulk played just over a minute and didn’t take a shot. Fennelly wasn’t worried about Paulk’s availability moving forward.
“As far as I know, she’s good to go,” Fennelly said.
Up Next
Iowa State stays home for a Wednesday showdown against Arizona State at Hilton Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
Iowa State Notes
- Today’s attendance: 10,746
- Iowa State women’s basketball’s all-time record moves to 891-684 (.566) and 353-364 (.492) in conference play.
- Fennelly’s career record moves to 820-384 (.681) in his 38-year career and 654-331 (.664) at Iowa State.
- With her first basket of the day, Reese Beaty scored her 100th point as a Cyclone.
- With 20 points today, Audi Crooks extended her double-figure scoring streak to 92 games, the longest active streak in NCAA women’s basketball. It is the longest streak among Big 12 players since Brittney Griner’s 116-game streak.
- The 20-point game is also the 59th of Crooks’ career.
- Crooks finished 8-of-10 at the free throw line, moving her career total to 400 makes at the line and the sixth all-time best mark by a Cyclone. She passed Seanna Johnson’s 398 free throws.
- With her first 3-pointer of the second half, Arianna Jackson scored her 11th point of the day and 500th of her career.
- Jackson’s point total also marks her fifth double-figure scoring performance in her last seven games.
- Alisa Williams scored her 250th point as a Cyclone and tallied her 100th career field goal with a bucket in the second quarter.
- Jada Williams posted her 190th assist of the season with five dimes in the first half, becoming an ISU Top 10 single-season assists leader. She has passed out 194 assists in her first season as a Cyclone.
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