ISU women take down No. 7 K-State

AMES (AP) — Addy Brown and Audi Crooks each scored 20 points as Iowa State knocked off No. 7 Kansas State 96-93 in double overtime on Wednesday night.

The Cyclones (14-9, 8-5 Big 12) made 10 straight free throws in the final 36 seconds of the second overtime period, including Brown’s four makes.

“You can’t get knocked down,” Brown said. “We didn’t get knocked down tonight. We went four rounds.”

Ayoka Lee and Serena Sundell both scored 20 points for Kansas State (21-4, 10-3).

The contest featured 13 lead changes, which ended when Hannah Belanger’s two free throws gave Iowa State an 88-87 lead with 35.3 second remaining in the second overtime. Brown added two with 19 seconds left.

“We needed this,” Crooks said. “It’s a nice little notch under our belt. Just some reassurance that the work we’re doing, our preparation, isn’t for nothing.”

There were seven lead changes in the final seven minutes of regulation, before the score was deadlocked at 70 with 52 seconds remaining.

Brown’s two free throws pulled Iowa State even, 72-72, with 10.6 seconds remaining in regulation.

Lee forced the second overtime with a hook shot at the buzzer to make it 80-80.

“I thought our fight at the end of the game was good,” Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie said. “I thought we did a decent job of extending that game. They just didn’t miss any free throws.”

Iowa State made 31 of 36 foul shots.

“We all hit some big ones down the stretch,” said Crooks, a former Bishop Garrigan star. “We practice them, so coach (Bill) Fennelly says ‘We’re going to take time out for this, so you better get to the hoop and get to the line.'”

Lee, a 6-foot-6 All-American, returned to the Kansas State lineup after missing six games following ankle surgery.

“You could see the rust on her early,” Mittie said. “She’s not had a lot of practice time, either. We had to wait until it healed. I kept asking her if she was okay to keep going, because the plan wasn’t to play her that amount.”

Mittie expected to use Lee 20-25 minutes. She played 33.

Despite Lee’s return, the Cyclones jumped to an early lead.

Belanger, Kelsey Joens and Nyamer Diew each hit 3-pointers as Iowa State put together a 12-0 run and built a 19-8 lead. The margin grew to 39-26 in the second quarter.

The Cyclones had lost four of their previous five games.

“We’ve been wobbling here a little bit, struggling on the road,” Fennelly said. “You’re just looking for something positive. When the season is over, we’ll look back and go ‘Did this turn the season, did it really matter?'”

BIG PICTURE

Kansas State began Wednesday a game behind No. 23 Oklahoma in the Big 12 standings. The Sooners improved to 12-1 in league with an 84-73 win over No. 21 Baylor on Wednesday, putting the Wildcats two games back in the conference title chase.

UP NEXT

Kansas State hosts Central Florida on Saturday.

Iowa State at Texas on Saturday.