Iowa State women no match for Connecticut, as Huskies post 101-68 victory

The Iowa State women fall for second time in three games, losing to No. 4 UConn big

Audi Crooks and Iowa State were topped by Connecticut Tuesday night. / Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State women had another chance to make a statement on a national scale Tuesday night. 

They were denied.

No. 4 Conneticut jumped out to an impressive 36-10 lead after the first quarter on its way to a 101-68 victory. Sarah Strong, Ashlynn Shade and All-American Paige Bueckers all scored over 27 points, knocking down a combined 17 three-pointers. 

Strong had 29 while Shade and Bueckers each scored 27. Kaitlyn Chen dished out eight assists for the Huskies (10-1), who were 20 of 34 from the 3-point line. 

For the Cyclones (9-4), Audi Crooks had 22 with Sydney Harris adding 17 off the bench, including five made triples. Addy Brown and Emily Ryan each scored nine and had six assists. 

Connecticut shot 57 percent from the field and held a plus-nine edge in rebounds. They also scored 14 points off 14 Iowa State turnovers while recording 27 assists on 37 made field goals.

Iowa State held a lead at 2-0 when Crooks made a jumper but the Huskies went on a 24-4 run from there. 

The Cyclones open Big 12 Conference play when they close out 2024 at Oklahoma State on Saturday, Dec. 21. The Cowboys are currently 10-1 on the year and have scored 92-plus in each of their last three since a loss to Richmond. 

Iowa State has lost all three games to ranked opponents this year, falling to defending national champion South Carolina and Iowa.