Iowa State Cyclones’ guard/forward Sydney Harris (25) passes the ball around Oklahoma State Cowgirls guard Stailee Heard (32) during the fourth quarter in the senior day women basketball at Hilton Coliseum on February. 25, 2026, in Ames, Iowa.(Photo: Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune)
Marshall Woods, Sports Reporter | Iowa State Daily
On a snowy Wednesday night, the Iowa State Cyclones welcomed the Oklahoma State Cowgirls of Stillwater, Oklahoma, for a midweek Big 12 duel.
The game ended 88 to 77 in Oklahoma State’s favor, giving the Cyclones their first loss at home since Jan. 11, when the Cyclones lost to West Virginia.
This loss showed some inconsistencies for the Cyclones, specifically the on-and-off scoring that spoiled senior night in Ames.
The Cyclones started the game on fire from the 3-point line with Sydney Harris, Addy Brown, and Arianna Jackson all making threes consecutively, giving the Cyclones a nine-point lead just two minutes into the game.
Iowa State then got to a 13-3 lead before a 15-5 run for Oklahoma State, with the Cyclones going on an over four-minute scoring drought. The first quarter ended at an 18-18 tie, a trend that continued throughout the game.
“Early in the game, it’s one of those things where you get off to a great start, but there’s so much time, and we miss a couple shots,” Iowa State Head Coach Bill Fennelly said. “You stay ahead five or seven points, you’re not going to run them out of the building by any means.”
The Cyclones started the second quarter hot once more. Harris and Mackenzie Hare both hit triples to give the Cyclones a six-point lead a minute into the quarter.
Iowa State proceeded to score only two points until the 5:43 mark, when the Cyclones scored five points before only scoring four points across the last five minutes, both coming after nearly two-and-a-half-minute scoring droughts.
Both teams entered the half tied once more, at 35 points apiece. The Cyclones were 7-17 to enter the half, with five of those coming in the first two minutes of the first and second quarters.
Iowa State opened the quarter hot once again, with a layup from Jada Williams on the second offensive possession before she made a 3-pointer on the fourth.
The Cyclones went on another offensive run, scoring seven points in 46 seconds.
Unfortunately for Iowa State, the scoring drought trend continues. The Cyclones’ only point from the five-minute mark to the two-minute mark was a single Audi Crooks free throw.
Luckily, the Cyclones found some traction near the end of the third, going on a 9-4 run in the final two minutes with two 3-pointers coming from Hare and Brown.
The third quarter ended level for the third straight quarter, with both teams at 60 points apiece.
The trend of starting quarters hot for Iowa State continued, but not to the level of the other quarters. Four points in the first two minutes helped the Cyclones, but was not helpful enough, as the Cowgirls matched the scoring.
Oklahoma State went on another run, this time it was 10 straight points for the Cowgirls to give Oklahoma State a 74-64 lead, and that seemed to be the knockout blow for the Cyclones.
“We were able to get stops,” Oklahoma State head coach Jacie Hoyt said. “Praise [Egharevba] had the huge steal. I thought that was a really big momentum shifter. Scoring on the road is hard in general.”
The Cyclones tried to fight back, getting the Cowgirls’ margin of victory down to just six before the Cowgirls got up to an 80-69 lead.
The Cyclones scored eight more points to try to fight back, but it was unsuccessful.
The game closed out at 88-77 in the Oklahoma State Cowgirls’ favor, with the Cyclones beating out from behind the line; they fell behind Oklahoma State in every other major stat.
Iowa State will look to fight back for its season finale in the team’s final regular-season matchup in Manhattan, Kansas, versus the Kansas State Wildcats, a team Iowa State has beaten earlier this year.
Iowa State Notes
Tonight’s attendance: 9,686
Iowa State women’s basketball’s all-time record moves to 892-686 (.565) and 354-366 (.492) in conference play.
Fennelly’s career record moves to 821-386 (.680) in his 38-year career and 655-333 (.663) at Iowa State.
With 19 points today, Audi Crooks extended her double-figure scoring streak to 95 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.
Crooks passed both Bridget Carleton (2,142) and Angie Welle (2,149) on the Iowa State all-time scorers list. Crooks has scored 2,157 career points through 96 games.
Kenzie Hare scored her 250th point as a Cyclone with her first 3-pointer of the night. She also pulled down her 100th board in the Cardinal and Gold with her third board of the night.
Jada Williams posted her eighth double-double of the season with 19 points and a game-high 10 assists.
Williams moved her season total to 223 assists, now the third-best single season mark at Iowa State. She passed previous marks from Lyndsey Medders at both third (216) and fourth (215).
Up Next
The game versus Kansas State will be at 12 p.m. Sunday on FS1.
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