Kenzie Hare hit the game-winning 3-point shot as time expired, Audi Crooks scored 41 points and No. 10 Iowa State beat Kansas 79-76.
Iowa State Cyclones’ center Audi Crooks (55) drives to the basket around Kansas Jayhawks forward Lilly Meister (52) during the first quarter in the Big-12 conference home opener on Dec. 21, 2025, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
NIrmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Kenzie Hare hit a winning 3-pointer as time expired, Audi Crooks scored 41 points and No. 10 Iowa State beat Kansas 79-76 on Sunday.
The Cyclones (13-0, 1-0 Big 12) fended off Kansas’ late run when Hare took a pass from Addy Brown and shot over Elle Evans from the corner in front of the Iowa State bench. The shot accounted for Hare’s only points in the game.
Crooks, who leads the nation in scoring, shot 19 of 28 from the field while going over 40 points for the third time this season. She has scored in double figures in 79 straight games. Brown had 16 points and eight rebounds and Jada Williams had 11 points, 10 assists and two steals.
S’Mya Nichols led Kansas (10-3, 0-1) with 29 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter as the Jayhawks came back from an 11-point deficit. Nicholls drove to the hoop against Arianna Jackson to tie it at 76 with 5.2 seconds left.
Williams inbounded the ball to Brown, who swung the pass to Hare for the winning shot. After the ball went through, teammates swarmed the smiling Hare.
Kansas opted to defend Crooks one-on-one, mostly with Lilly Meister, rather than double-team her. Crooks capitalized with easy basket after easy basket. The Cyclones were just 1 of 7 on 3s before Hare’s big shot at the end.
Kansas played its third straight game without Regan Williams and 10th in a row without Jaliya Davis. Both are nursing injuries.
The Jayhawks have lost three straight to the Cyclones and haven’t won in Ames since 2015.
Up next
Kansas: Hosts West Virginia on Jan. 1.
Iowa State: Visits Houston on Dec. 31.
Category: General Sports
