KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Cyclones fell 69-63 against Baylor in the quarterfinals after a tough battle that left Iowa State with an inability to keep a consistent offensive drive going.

Baylor took control of the first quarter due to the Cyclones’ inability to break the press. The Bears went on a shooting run and led with an 18-4 score. Iowa State found the ability to fight back and made seven field goals in a row to narrow the score to 22-17 by the end of the opening 10 minutes.

By the end of the first half, Baylor’s aggression on the court turned into a drive of momentum from the offensive front, going 46% from the field as senior center Aaronette Vonleh made back-to-back shots to drive the Cyclones back to at least 10 points behind throughout the quarter. By halftime, Iowa State was quick to play catch up and secured a five-point deficit, as the scoreboard read 38-33 in favor of the Bears.

With a tough back-and-forth battle, Iowa State was able to finally secure a one-point lead due to a successful 3-point jump shot from sophomore guard Arianna Jackson. Despite that last spark of momentum to carry them through the final four minutes, the Cyclones fell sloppy under pressure and ultimately fell 69-63.

Crooks carries the offense in the paint

Dealing with high-pressure guarding at low post throughout the night, sophomore center Audi Crooks dealt with a handful as the Cyclones heavily relied on her to keep the score tight.

Despite the slow offensive start, which Baylor thrived upon, Crooks had a consistent night, earning herself 11 points in her first eight minutes of play. This strongly contributed to Iowa State’s 17 first-quarter points.

“I think the value that you see her bring on the court is one thing,” Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said. “But the value that she brings to our university and our program is exponentially bigger than anything she does on a basketball court.”

With 3-pointers out of the question for the night, as the Cyclones made two out of their attempted 20 shots, Iowa State’s next strong offensive positioning came from the low post. 

More emphasis was put on Crooks, as sophomore forward Addy Brown was a hard target for Baylor’s defense. After scoring a new career high of 41 points in the previous game, Baylor junior guard/forward Bella Fontleroy took it upon herself to personally target Brown and make sure this game did not end up with a similar outcome.

“She’s a great player. I mean obviously you saw what happened [Thursday] night and what she’s capable of,” Fontleroy said. “She scores at all three levels, not only her ability to score but also her play-making and finding her teammates when they’re open. Ball pressuring her was a big emphasis.”

Despite some rough plays, Crooks kept a consistent night, ending the game with a team-high of 32 points after going 14-for-18 from field goal range, alongside making four out of her attempted six shots from behind the charity stripe.

Turnovers drive Baylor’s offense

With plenty of mistakes made throughout the game due to Baylor’s highly talented defense, Iowa State lost the ball multiple times and ended the night with 22 turnovers.

“We know that our advantage is pressure defense,” Baylor head coach Nicki Collen said. “We know it’s our athletic advantage in the game.”

Thriving off the Cyclones’ mistakes, Baylor was able to put together 20 points off turnovers. The Bears were able to put together seven fast break points from their presented forced turnovers.

“To their credit, they’re pretty handy, they’re physical, they play with a lot of grit,” Crooks said. “Defensively, they’re in your face every play.”

Despite their defensive success, which heavily contributed to the team’s overall points, Collen believed that the Bears’ one mistake during the game was their inability to score more points off the presented turnovers.

“I thought our inability to capitalize on some of the turnovers is almost what hurt us tonight,” Collen said. “I thought there were some times we got a steal, we got a transition, we missed a layup, or fumbled it, or dribbled out of bounds. We gave it back too many times and didn’t take advantage of numbers.”

Compared to Iowa State, Baylor cemented 10 turnovers, which the Cyclones then turned into 13 points.

Iowa State falls in final minutes

As the Cyclones went into the fourth quarter trailing closely, 55-52, Iowa State fell apart due to Baylor kicking up its aggression.

“I thought we came in really poised,” Collen said.

Getting a small advantage as Crooks’ biggest competition, Vonleh at the low post fouled out. Iowa State still lacked the ability to put up points as Baylor junior forward Kyla Abraham stepped in and presented a tough challenge.

“Kyla [Abraham] had really struggled against her,” Collen said. “And I thought her last four minutes might have been the best four minutes of Kyla’s [Abraham] career from a defensive perspective.”

Alongside the offensive trouble, the Cyclones’ top players, Brown and senior guard Emily Ryan, both fouled out, with Harris following close behind after tallying up four fouls.

In the last minutes, the Bears were able to control the court, putting up a 3-point shot by senior guard Jada Walker, which sparked Baylor to throw four more points together before two successful free throws to seal the win. In comparison, Iowa State put up its lowest points of the quarter with 11 to make its exit out of Kansas City.