The Cyclone has died down. After a blistering 14–0 start and a rise to No. 10 in the AP Poll, Iowa State has now dropped three straight games and remains winless in 2026. Their latest loss came against the unranked West Virginia, who comfortably defeated Audi Crooks and Co. 83-70. Despite the current slump, coach Bill Fennelly isn’t fretting too much, reinstating his belief in the controllable.

Audi Crooks continued her offensive tear to put up 22 points and 10 rebounds. Crooks tallied her 83rd game in a row with 10-plus points, while bringing in her seventh double-double this season and 25th of her career. However, it still wasn’t enough as West Virginia finished the game shooting 50.8% from the floor and shot 7 of 13 attempts from beyond the arc. They were at bay against a side they ideally should comfortably beat, but it does not alarm Fennelly yet.

“We just have to get ready for the next game. We are who we are, and I told our players before the game that life has these moments you can’t control,” He said in the post-game press conference. “What we can control is our effort, our preparation — all the things we do.”

Fortunes indeed play a huge factor in any of the wins for all teams. Sometimes, things just don’t fall your way for one reason or another. Momentum plays an important part in getting positive results, and breaking the current downward spiral is important for Iowa State. For Fennelly, his team’s position is clear: as long as they keep working behind the scenes, the results will correct themselves.

“The challenge is that it’s hard to improve a lot in practice right now because our practices are really short,” he further said. “Half the kids who played today won’t practice tomorrow because they need rest. So we’re trying to figure that out, but there are no easy answers by any means.”

Iowa State has a fairly thin rotation with only 8 players out of its 13 playing double-digit minutes per game. To sustain a consistent quality over a long period was always going to be a task. Maintaining fitness and the highest level of performance is next to impossible when you are playing in a stronger Big 12. The tiredness showed as the Mountaineers controlled the game from inside the paint, outscoring the Cyclones 44-20.

ISU also gave away costly turnovers, leading to 30 West Virginia points. To balance maintaining vigor while also improving on their weaknesses will be a task for Fennelly. To add to his woes, the squad is also experiencing injuries when it comes to its key players that could send them tumbling in the business end of the season.

Bill Fennelly’s Latest Addy Brown Update Could Spell Trouble For Iowa State

Addy Brown missed her first game against Cincinnati with back problems, but the situation seems more dire a game later. Brown was listed as questionable in the availability report for the game against West Virginia, but eventually missed the game. She was scheduled to undergo an MRI, and the results are not great. Fennelly said following Iowa State’s loss to West Virginia that Brown is expected to miss more time.

“This is not a short-term situation,” Fennelly said. “It is something that they’re going to decide. The medical team will make some decisions on the best way to move forward.”

Addy Brown was among the key reasons this team was off to its best start in program history. She was averaging 13 points per game, a valuable secondary scorer to Audi Crooks, while being the best rebounder on the team at 9 per game and the second-best creator at 5.8 per game. Her all-around game was essential to how Iowa State plays and allows Crooks to do what she does best. Now that she is out injured, they have no choice but to find solutions to their new problems.

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“We need to move forward and figure out what we’re going to do now,” said Iowa State senior Sydney Harris. “In the past, we had players who were playing that are not here. So we have to make those adjustments, and I think we are capable of doing it.”

There is no doubt that Bill Fennelly and Audi Crooks need to evolve without Brown out. They also have another key starter in Arianna Jackson, out with a knee injury. They will need contributors from the bench and from the starting lineup to step up to fill Brown’s shoes. Crooks can’t carry this alone, they’ll need fresh answers from the bench. One thing is clear that without change, the 14-0 start could become a fading memory faster than anyone expected.