rewrite this content and keep HTML tags (remove this from content : rewrite this content and keep HTML tags)
Beckett Harrison recently proclaimed that Audi Crooks is championship-ready.
Baylor head coach Nicki Collen agreed, and because of that understanding, her No. 22-ranked Bears took down Crooks’ No. 10-ranked Cyclones, 72—70, sending Iowa State to their first lost of the season.
After Crooks was cooking in her customary fashion in the first half, racking up 22 first-half points, Collen resorted to an extreme defensive tactic in order to try to stop Crooks. Baylor aggressively double-teamed Crooks, sandwiching her between two defenders during every Iowa State offensive possession for much of the second half. That left Iowa State junior guard Jada Williams unguarded, with Baylor welcoming shots from Williams over scoring opportunities for Crooks or any other Cyclone.
Williams, a sub-27-percent 3-pointer shooter and sub-40-percent overall shooter entering the game, accepted the challenge, firing off 17 3-pointers and 28 total shots. She made six of those 3s and scored a career-high and game-high 28 points.
But Crooks scored just four second-half points, breaking her streak of 30-point games as she finished with 26 points.
In addition to neutralizing Crooks on offense, Collen and Baylor exploited her on defense.
As Beckett highlighted, Crooks, for all her offensive, brilliance, brings distinct defensive disadvantages. Although Crooks did grab 10 rebounds, she can struggle to keep opponents off the glass. Baylor frequently extended their own offensive possession by corralling boards, with Bears senior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs doing most of the damage as she collected 20 rebounds, including seven offensive. Crooks also has limited mobility on the defensive end, with Iowa State electing to play her in a conservative drop coverage, meaning she mostly stays around the basket. She’s therefore vulnerable in ball-screen actions, when the player she is defending goes to set a screen for a teammate.
And that’s the exact play Baylor went to on their final possession with the score tied at 70.
Junior guard Taliah Scott, one the nation’s more proficient ball-screen operators, took advantage of Crooks’ deep drop after Williams was unable to get over the screen. Scott rose for the open midranger and sunk the game-winner with two seconds remaining. Scoreless in the first half, Scott’s game-winner gave her a team-high 21 points on the afternoon.
With the loss, the Cyclones became yet another undefeated to fall in the first days of 2026.
On Saturday, No. 8 TCU lost their perfect record at Utah, losing 87-77 in overtime. Super senior point guard’s Olivia Miles’ 31 points, seven assists and seven rebounds were not enough to overcome a 9-for-39 (23 percent) 3-point shooting performance from the Horned Frogs.
Vanderbilt stays perfect thanks to Blakes’ big game
No. 12 Vanderbilt, however, is still among undefeated.
Sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes started hot and closed strong for the Commodores, finishing with 32 points to help Vandy gut out the win over No. 5 LSU, 65-61. The Commodores are off to their best start since the 1992-93 season, which ended with a trip to the Four Four.
Freshman point guard Aubrey Galvan, who hit a 3-pointer with just over two minutes remaining to put Vanderbilt up for good, added 14 points, persevering through constant pressure defense from LSU junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley.
Ultimately, it was the Tigers that succumbed to the pressure, dropping their second-straight SEC game after starting the season 14-0. While LSU did win the rebounding battle, which was their downfall against Kentucky on Thursday, they coughed up the ball 22 times, with the giveaways contributing to the Tigers’ inability to expand on their 28-22 halftime lead.
Fulwiley, who was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time in her LSU tenure, led the team with 13 points, although she committed a team-high five turnovers. Junior guard Mikaylah Williams added 12 points, but senior guard Flau’Jae Johnson played just 19 minutes and was held scoreless for the first time in her career. After the game, head coach Kim Mulkey said she was dealing with an ankle injury.
While neither team shot well, Vanderbilt’s ability to earn more free throws, in addition to taking 27 3-pointers to LSU’s seven, helped them manufacture the extra points required to prevail, and remain perfect.
