SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Audi Crooks scored 12 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter, Addy Brown added 22 points and Iowa State rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit then held off Princeton 68-63 in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday night.
The First Four victory in the matchup of 11-seeds advances the Cyclones (23-11) to a matchup with sixth-seed Michigan on Friday. The win was No. 800 for coach Bill Fennelly, third-most in women's basketball among active coaches.
Crooks, named to the AP All-America third team released Wednesday, dominated the paint where the Cyclones outscored the Tigers 46-28, making 12 of 21 shots. Brown was 9 of 16 with eight assists and seven rebounds. Emily Ryan had six assists in tying the Big 12 career record with 988, matching Niya Johnson's total from 2013-16 with Baylor.
Fadima Tall scored 19 points, Ashley Chea had 15 but none in the second half, Skye Belker added 11 and Parker Hill had 10 points and 12 rebounds for Princeton (21-8), which, like Iowa State, was making its sixth straight tournament appearance.
After three quarters of big runs, the scoring went back and forth in the final period with the Cyclones' lead varying between seven and four. When Belker’s 3-point try spun out of the basket with about nine seconds left, Crooks secured the rebound and the win.
SOUTHERN 68, UC SAN DIEGO 56
LOS ANGELES — Soniyah Reed came off the bench to score 19 of her 24 points in the first half when Southern built a big lead that it was able to ride to a 68-56 NCAA Tournament First Four win over UC San Diego on Wednesday night.
The 16th-seeded Jaguars (21-14) won for the first time in seven tournament appearances and go up against overall No. 1 seed UCLA in the round of 64 on Friday.
Reed, who came in averaging under 11 points a game, made 8 of 10 shots including three 3-pointers. Aniya Gourdine shot 7 of 14 and added 17 points and seven rebounds. Tionna Lidge scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting. The Jaguars shot 49 percent.
Sumayah Sugapong led UCSD (20-16) with 19 points, making three 3-pointers, and had six assists. Parker Montgomery hit four 3-pointers and added 15 points. The Triton duo combined for 25 second-half points. UCSD, which reached the tournament in its first year of eligibility, shot 34 percent.
A 3-pointer by Sabrina Ma and a bucket from Junae Mahan got the Tritons within six with a minute to go before Southern's free throws accounted for the remainder of the scoring.
Montgomery and Sugapong hit a pair of 3-pointers apiece and combined for all but two of UCSD's 20 third-quarter points to cut a 20-point deficit to nine heading into the final period.
The game was tied only at 2-2. Reed, who entered midway through the first quarter, made a trio of 3-pointers and added another bucket in leading the Jaguars to a 19-11 first-quarter edge. Gourdine had a pair of 3-pointers and Reed eight straight points in the second quarter when Southern outscored UCSD 21-9.
First Published March 20, 2025, 1:50 a.m.
