Audi Crooks: From Record Nights to Body-Shaming Battles, a Cyclones Story
On a practice court that smells of linoleum and sweat, Iowa State center audi crooks runs through a set while coaches bark corrections and teammates call for passes. It is an intimate moment before a national stage: Crooks enters the NCAA women’s basketball tournament as an honored star and a focal point for both praise and public scrutiny.
Audi Crooks: honors, numbers and the season’s arc
Audi Crooks has accumulated national recognition this season: she was named second-team All-American by the and by the U. S. Basketball Writers Association, and she is a semifinalist for the Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year. Statistically she ranks as the second-leading scorer in college women’s basketball, averaging 25. 5 points per game while shooting nearly 65% from the floor and grabbing 7. 8 rebounds. She has scored in double figures for 97 consecutive games and became the fastest player in Big 12 women’s basketball history to reach 2, 000 career points. One standout night, a 41-point performance versus Kansas State, tied her with Brittney Griner for the most 40-point games in Big 12 history (five).
The Cyclones’ season has been uneven. Iowa State opened with a 14-game winning streak that included victories over Iowa, Indiana, Marquette and Kansas, then endured a five-game losing stretch. The team rebounded by winning seven of eight before losing three of its final four regular-season games. Iowa State begins March Madness as an 8th seed and will face a 9th-seeded opponent in Storrs, Connecticut at 5: 30 p. m. ET.
How teammates, critics and context shape the conversation
“Our record doesn’t necessarily reflect the talent that we have, ” Crooks said, framing the Cyclones’ roller-coaster season. Point guard Jada Williams echoed that view, noting the team was hampered at times when two starters were absent from the lineup and that the return to health has altered the outlook. Williams and Crooks also share an off-court partnership as faces of a national “Better Together” campaign from a major wireless brand, tying their message of connection to the team dynamic.
Injuries factored into Iowa State’s midseason struggles: Addy Brown suffered a lower-body injury and Arianna Jackson had a knee problem, spells that coincided with the five-game slide. The team’s record when Jackson and Brown both played stood at 16-4, with three losses by single digits, underscoring the narrow margins that separated wins and losses.
Alongside praise, Crooks has faced harsh public commentary focused on her body. A Reddit thread accused her of being “out of shape” and questioned her conditioning after an early exit from a conference tournament. Those attacks reflect a broader pattern of body-shaming athletes who defy narrow expectations: Serena Williams, the tennis player, recalled in 2009 that critics labeled her “too fit” or “too muscular, ” and urged athletes to “enjoy what you look like. ” Ilona Maher, a rugby player who was part of a bronze-winning Olympic team, pushed back on BMI-based critiques, saying, “BMI doesn’t really tell you what I can do. It doesn’t tell you what I do on the field, how fit I am. … So yeah, I do have a BMI of 30. I am considered overweight. But alas, I’m going to the Olympics and you’re not. ”
What the team is doing and what to watch in March
With key contributors returning and Crooks continuing to produce at a high level, Iowa State’s approach rests on cohesion and adaptability. Crooks adjusted her game at times to rebound, block shots and facilitate when defenses focused on stopping her scoring. Williams expanded her playmaking, ranking among national leaders in assists per game, which shifted opponents’ defensive priorities and created openings for the Cyclones.
As the tournament begins, the matchup in Storrs will test whether Iowa State’s top pieces can sustain balance under pressure. For Crooks personally, the postseason is both athletic stage and public reckoning: she arrives with national honors and statistical milestones, and with critics still vocal about her physique. How she and her teammates respond on the court will shape both the season’s legacy and the ongoing conversation about what an elite athlete’s body looks like.
Back on the practice floor, the drill ends and audi crooks gathers with her teammates for a brief huddle. The scoreboard in the corner counts nothing but practice minutes, but the faces in the circle—some rewarded, some doubted—show a team trying to translate moments like this into wins when the lights rise in the tournament arena.
