Audi Crooks poured in a career-high 47 points, 30 of which came in the second half, and No. 10 Iowa State outdueled Indiana 106-95 to win the Coconut Hoops Blue Heron championship game Sunday in Fort Myers, Fla.
Crooks dominated inside with 19-of-25 field goal shooting and 9-of-11 shooting at the line. She scored on three possessions early in the third quarter, only for Indiana to match her each time and take a brief 55-53 lead. But Crooks and the Cyclones scored the next nine points and never trailed again, leading by as many as 19 points in the fourth.
Jada Williams (23 points, 11 assists) and Addy Brown (17 points, 10 rebounds) contributed double-double efforts for Iowa State (9-0). The Cyclones shot a season-best 63.9% from the field and outscored their opponents 62-34 in the paint.
Shay Ciezki helped Indiana (7-1) stay connected to Iowa State by scoring a season-high 38 points, including 13-of-14 foul shooting. Lenee Beaumont added 19 points.
No. 1 UConn 104, Xavier 39
Reserve Allie Ziebell went 5 of 7 from 3-point range and led six Huskies in double figures with 16 points as they routed the Musketeers in Cincinnati.
In an unusually early Big East opener for both teams, UConn (7-0, 1-0) jumped out to a 49-25 halftime lead before pouring on another 35 points in the third quarter. Ashlynn Shade (14 points) and Azzi Fudd (12) both shot 4 of 7 from beyond the arc as the Huskies made an even 50% (18 of 36) from deep.
Sarah Strong compiled 14 points, eight assists, six rebounds and six steals and Kayleigh Heckel and Serah Williams added 10 points apiece for the visitors. Xavier (4-3, 0-1) was led by Vivien Nejasmic’s 12 points.
No. 4 Texas 81, Penn 63
Madison Booker and Justice Carlton helped the Longhorns shrug off a slow start in a win over the Quakers in Austin, Texas.
Booker posted 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and made all 11 of her free throws for Texas (8-0). Carlton came off the bench to score all 10 of her points in the second quarter after Texas trailed 15-11 at the first intermission.
Kyla Oldacre had 14 points and nine rebounds, Teya Sidberry put up 13 points and 12 boards and Jordan Lee chipped in 12 points for the Longhorns. Mataya Gayle finished with 24 points for Penn (5-3) while Katie Collins had 12 points and nine boards and Simone Sawyer scored 10.
No. 11 Iowa 86, Fairfield 72
Ava Heiden bundled 18 points with 16 rebounds and the Hawkeyes staved off a spirited upset bid from the Stags in Iowa City.
Iowa (8-0) trailed by as many as 11 points in the first quarter and only led 41-35 at halftime. Kylie Feuerbach scored 12 of her 17 points after halftime to help the Hawkeyes pull away. Hannah Stuelke and Taylor McCabe each finished with 13 points for Iowa.
Reserve Christina Pham led Fairfield (4-2) with 14 points on 4-of-5 3-point shooting in 16 minutes. Meghan Andersen scored 13 points and Kaety L’Amoreaux had 12 as the Stags stayed close with 18 3-pointers but were outrebounded 44-26.
No. 23 Louisville 100, Bellarmine 37
Imari Berry scored 14 points and Reyna Scott tossed in 13 from off the bench as the host Cardinals blew past the Knights.
Louisville (7-2) also got 12 points from Tajianna Roberts and 10 from Rebekah Graves as the team shot 51.4% overall, made 13 3-pointers and won the rebounding battle 58-30.
Rachel Shropshire finished with a team-high 10 points for Bellarmine (2-7) as the Knights found themselves behind 30-6 after one quarter and 58-13 at halftime.
–Field Level Media
