Audi Crooks posts career-high 47 points as No. 10 Iowa State pull away from Indiana 106-95

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Audi Crooks scored a career-high 47 points and No. 10 Iowa State pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Indiana 106-95 for the Blue Heron Division Championship on Sunday.

She made 19 of her 25 field goal attempts as she combined a feathery touch with spin moves and a step-back jumpers. The 6-foot-3 center outdueled Indiana’s Shay Ciezki, who had 38 points. The Cyclones outscored Indiana 31-27 in the fourth quarter.

Jada Williams backed Crooks’ effort with 23 points while Addy Brown added 17 along with 10 rebounds.

Iowa State (9-0) shot a blistering 64% from the field (39-of-61) while outscoring the Hoosiers 62-34 in the paint.

Ciezki made 13-of-14 free throws and 12-of-21 shots before fouling out with 3:39 left. She had 13 points in a frenetic first quarter. Iowa State led 16-10 but that quickly evaporated and the teams tied at 24.

The second quarter was much of the same. Indiana briefly led and the Cylones went up 39-34 but that quickly disappeared. A 3-pointer by Mackenzie Hare gave Iowa State a 46-43 halftime lead.

Indiana stayed with Iowa State but the Cyclones went on a 9-0 run after trailing 55-53 in the third.

They kept the pressure on in the fourth and led by as much as 99-80.

NO. 1 UCONN 104, XAVIER 39

CINCINNATI (AP) — Allie Ziebell scored 16 points and made five of UConn’s season-high 18 3-pointers to lead the Huskies in a blowout of Xavier.

Ashlynn Shade scored 14 points including four 3-pointers and Sarah Strong also scored 14 for the defending national champions, who had six players in double figures.

UConn (7-0, 1-0 Big East) finished two 3-pointers shy of the program record of 20 that was set in a win over Iowa State last December.

Azzi Fudd, the reigning Associated Press national player of the week, hit four 3’s for 12 points.

Vivien Nejasmic scored 12 points to lead Xavier (4-3, 0-1). Mackenzie Givens and Mariyah Noel each scored nine points for the Musketeers.

NO. 3 UCLA 99, NO. 14 TENNESSEE 77

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gabriela Jaquez made 10 of 14 shots for 29 points and UCLA defeated Tennessee and former teammate Janiah Barker, snapping the Lady Volunteers’ five-game winning streak.

Kiki Rice added 20 points and tied her career high with 11 rebounds for the Bruins (8-1). Jaquez made a career-high five 3-pointers. Gianna Kneepkens had 19 points, hitting four 3-pointers, and Angela Dugalic had 14 points and six rebounds. Lauren Betts had seven points in her return after missing a 30-point win over Duke with a left arm injury.

Barker led the Lady Vols (5-2) with a career-high 25 points. She transferred from UCLA last spring after one season in which she made three starts in 36 games while averaging 7.4 points and six rebounds.

The Bruins broke the game open in the third, when they outscored the Lady Vols 27-17 to take a 76-56 lead. UCLA shot 58% from the floor, outscored Tennessee 50-32 in the paint and had 26 assists while keeping up with the Lady Vols’ frenetic pace.

The Lady Vols scored nine straight points to start the fourth, cutting their deficit to 76-65, but the Bruins took over from there.

NO. 4 TEXAS 81, PENN 63

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Madison Booker had 17 points and 10 rebounds to help Texas beat Penn.

Booker made all 11 of her free throws and had five assists to lead Texas (8-0) to its 30th consecutive home win.

Kyla Oldacre had 14 points and nine rebounds for Texas off the bench. Teya Sidberry added 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Jordan Lee scored 12. Rori Harmon made five steals.

Mataya Gayle led Pennsylvania (4-3) with 26 points, two fewer than her career best, keeping the Quakers competitive for much of the game. Katie Collins had 12 points and nine rebounds.

Texas has been without starting guard Aaliyah Crump (foot), backup point guard Bryanna Preston (ankle) and forward Ashton Judd (knee) for its last three games. Judd, a possible starter, has yet to appear in a game after transferring from Missouri.

Two of those three games games were victories over No. 3 UCLA and No. 2 South Carolina to win the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas. Returning home, Texas made a sluggish start.

NO. 15 BAYLOR 76, GRAMBLING 35

WACO, Texas (AP) — Taliah Scott scored 17 points and Baylor held Grambling to 10 points in the first half before cruising to a victory.

Scott made just 3 of 11 shots from the floor, including 2 of 7 from 3-point range, but she nailed all nine of her free throws for Baylor (7-1), which attempted only 11 foul shots in the game.

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs totaled 10 points and 16 rebounds for her third double-double of the season for the Bears. Bella Fontleroy scored 11 with seven rebounds. Kiersten Johnson scored nine and had five of Baylor’s 10 blocked shots.

Five different Bears hit a 3-pointer and Baylor shot 61.5% from the floor in the first quarter to lead 24-2. Shaniah Nunn had the only basket for Grambling, stopping a 14-0 Baylor run to begin the game. The Tigers missed 14 of 15 shots in the period.

Scott had five of Baylor’s 13 points in the second quarter and the Bears took a 27-point lead into halftime.

The teams played to a 20-all tie in the third period before Baylor outscored Grambling 19-5 in the fourth.

NO. 23 LOUISVILLE 100, BELLARMINE 37

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Imari Berry scored 14 points as Louisville beat Bellarmine at the Louisville MTE.

Berry came off the bench to make 5 of 7 shots with two 3-pointers for the Cardinals (7-2). She added five rebounds and four assists.

Tajianna Roberts had 12 points in 15 minutes for Louisville. Reagan Bender scored all five of her points in a 15-2 run to begin the game and was the only starter to play more than 18 minutes. Reyna Scott had 13 points and fellow reserve Rebekah Graves scored 10. Anaya Hardy had a game-high 10 rebounds to go with six points and two blocks off the bench.

Rachel Shropshire made 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and scored 10 to pace the Knights (2-7).

Roberts and Mackenly Randolph both had seven points by the end of the first quarter and the Cardinals led 30-6. Louisville made 12 of 21 shots in the first 10 minutes, while the Knights made 2 of 19.