Audi Crooks racked up 25 points and nine rebounds and Iowa State toppled No. 17 Oklahoma 85-68 in the semifinals of the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament on Monday in Kansas City, Mo.
The fourth-seeded Cyclones surprised the top-seeded Sooners and advanced to Tuesday night’s conference championship game, where it will face second-seeded Texas.
Emily Ryan tallied 12 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for the Cyclones (20-10), who have now beaten a ranked opponent six times this season. They took the lead for good at 6-5 and never looked back, using a 15-0 run in the first quarter and a 9-0 stretch in the third to lead by as many as 28 points.
Payton Verhulst led Oklahoma (22-9) with 23 points and seven boards.
No. 5 Texas 71, No. 16 Kansas State 64
Madison Booker scored 17 points, Shay Holle made the go-ahead 3-pointer and the Longhorns defeated the third-seeded Wildcats in the other Big 12 semifinal in Kansas City.
Aaliyah Moore put up 14 points and eight rebounds for Texas (29-4). Ayoka Lee paired a game-high 25 points with 10 rebounds to lead Kansas State (25-7).
Kansas State climbed out of a 14-point hole and took a 57-55 lead on Brylee Green’s 3-pointer with four minutes left. After some back and forth, Holle (11 points) broke a 61-61 tie with 1:13 to go with a 3-pointer, and she added a layup 37 seconds later to help secure Texas’ win.
No. 10 UConn 78, Georgetown 42
Paige Bueckers scored 27 points and blocked five shots as the Huskies cruised past the Hoyas to capture the Big East tournament title in Uncasville, Conn.
Ice Brady added 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds for top-seeded UConn (29-5), which clinched its fourth Big East tourney title in a row. KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade finished with 10 points apiece. The Huskies jumped to a 16-2 lead in the first five-plus minutes and never looked back.
Graceann Bennett and Mya Bembry scored 12 points apiece to lead sixth-seeded Georgetown (22-11). Kelsey Ransom scored nine points.
No. 14 Gonzaga 72, Pacific 61
Eliza Hollingsworth had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Yvonne Ejim added 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Bulldogs staved off the Tigers in the West Coast Conference tournament semifinals in Las Vegas.
Hollingsworth, Kaylynne Truong and Brynna Maxwell each made three 3-pointers for top-seeded Gonzaga (30-2), which will face third-seeded Portland in Tuesday’s conference final. Maxwell scored 17 points and Truong finished with 13.
Anaya James scored 23 points and Liz Smith had 12 for fifth-seeded Pacific (18-14).
No. 21 UNLV 83, Fresno State 35
Alyssa Brown posted 16 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots as the Lady Rebels stifled the Bulldogs in a Mountain West tournament quarterfinal in Las Vegas.
Amarachi Kimpson added 16 points, six boards and five assists off the bench for top-seeded UNLV (28-2), which will play fifth-seeded Colorado State in the semifinals on Tuesday. Kiara Jackson scored 15 points and Desi-Rae Young had 10.
The Lady Rebels shot 51.9 percent from the floor and 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) from 3-point range while holding ninth-seeded Fresno State to 21.3 percent overall and 2-of-25 (8 percent) from deep. Mia Jacobs and Maria Konstantinidou shared the team lead with seven points apiece for the Bulldogs (15-18).
–Field Level Media
