Iowa State vs. Princeton Primer

Who: Iowa State (22-11, 12-6 Big 12) vs. Princeton (25-6, 15-3 Big 12)
Where: Purcell Pavilion – Notre Dame, Ind.
When: Wednesday, March 19, 2025 – 6:00 p.m. CT

The Links
WATCH: ESPNU
PxP: Pam Ward Analyst: Stephanie White
LISTEN: Cyclone Radio Network – Varsity App or Radio Affiliates
PxP: Noah Wolf Analyst: Jamie Steyer Johnson
LIVE STATS
IOWA STATE GAME NOTES
MEDIA CENTER

Iowa State makes its sixth-straight NCAA Championship appearance and 23rd overall as an 11-seed, meeting Princeton in the First Four round of the tournament in Notre Dame, Indiana. The Cyclones are one of 15 teams nationally to be selected to each of the last six NCAA Championships.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Overall: First Meeting
At a Neutral Site: First Meeting
Fennelly vs. Princeton: First Meeting

SERIES NOTE
The 2025 NCAA Championship marks the first neutral site contest in Notre Dame for Iowa State. The Cyclones last played in Purcell Pavilion in February 1983, taking on the Fighting Irish in Notre Dame.

FOUR THINGS
3 – Iowa State had three players honored with Big 12 recognition. Audi Crooks was a unanimous First Team All-Big 12 selection while Addy Brown earned second team honors and Emily Ryan was honorable mention.

6 – Iowa State is one of the top distributing teams in the country, recording 19.3 assists per game ... the Cyclones rank sixth nationally and second in the Big 12 with the mark.

15 – Number of times ISU has held its opponent to 60 points or less in a game this season. The Cyclones most recently held Houston to under 60, taking the victory in Hilton Coliseum, 64-53.

65 – Audi Crooks has scored in double figures in 65 straight games, besting Angie Welle's previous-best mark of 64 straight games (Nov. 29, 2000-March 18, 2002).

FENNELLY RETURNS TO NOTRE DAME
Before he began his legendary run as a head coach, Bill Fennelly spent two seasons at Notre Dame as an assistant coach from 1986-88. Fennelly worked under North Star Conference Coach of the Year Mary DiStanislao (1986-87) and future Hall of Famer Muffet McGraw (1987-88). He helped the Fighting Irish to a 32-23 record over his two-season stint before being hired as Toledo's head coach ahead of the 1988-89 season.

1,000 POINT QUEEN
Iowa State sophomore Audi Crooks became the program's 35th 1,000 point scorer with her 23rd point against Utah (Jan. 5). Crooks is the fastest Cyclone to score 1,000 points, reaching the mark in 49 games. She passed all-time leading scorer Ashley Joens as the fastest ISU player to 1,000 points, the previous best in 64 games. Crooks is also the third fastest Big 12 women's basketball player to reach 1,000 points behind Courtney Paris (Oklahoma, 46) and Sheila Lambert (Baylor, 48).

Among a loaded sophomore class nationally, Crooks was the third NCAA Division I player in her class to score 1,000 points at one institution behind JuJu Watkins (USC) and Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame). Crooks owns the fourth best career scoring average (21.2 PPG) among active NCAA DI women's basketball players and ranks ninth overall. Each of the top five NCAA DI career scorers are sophomores and juniors: Watkins (USC), Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Ta'Niya Latson (Florida State), Crooks (Iowa State), Raegan McCowan (Western Illinois).

CROOKS COOKS
Iowa State sophomore Audi Crooks has garnered national attention as one of the nation's most exciting post players. Crooks has scored in double figures in 65 straight games and finished with 20+ points 39 times in her career. The 6-3 center scored a season-high 36 points on 14-of-18 shooting from the floor against Kansas State. She poured in 33 points against Kansas (Jan. 1) in ISU's 78-64 win over the Jayhawks and against Colorado (Feb. 8).

Crooks was one of the top players in NCAA Division I for field goal percentage last season, shooting nearly 58 percent from the floor. She holds top single-season marks at Iowa State in points (765) and made field goals (304) with her totals this season. Crooks broke the Iowa State sophomore record against UCF (Jan. 25) with her 192^nd make of the 2024-25 season.

EMILY RYAN DISH-TRIBUTION CENTER
Emily Ryan is one of Iowa State's most prolific point guards, recording top 10 career marks in assists, steals and blocks while becoming the program's 34^th 1,000 point scorer in March 2023. The Claflin, Kansas native has recorded 982 assists and holds the all-time best mark in program history by over 200 dimes. She is the active NCAA women's basketball leader for assists with her career total, followed by Kentucky's Georgia Amoore with 855 dimes.

Ryan is one of three NCAA DI women's basketball players to record at least 1,500 points, 600 rebounds and 900 assists in her career, joining Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon) and Caitlin Clark (Iowa).

The 5-11 guard has recorded a career assist/turnover ratio of 1.91. Over 151 games, she has tallied single-game assists at every mark, 1-17 and has never finished a game with less than one assist. Ryan ranks ninth for all-time NCAA DI women's basketball assists leaders.

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Players Mentioned

Addy Brown

Audi Crooks

Emily Ryan

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics