One of the loudest stories of this season has come out of Ames. The Iowa State Cyclones are playing some of the best basketball they’ve ever played, and Audi Crooks is right at the heart of it. Heading into the holiday break, they’re a perfect 13–0, sitting 10th in the country, and the rest of the nation is finally starting to take notice, with Crooks getting the recognition she truly deserves.

Audi Crooks was named one of the five Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week by the USBWA, an award organized under Mel Greenberg, the organization’s vice president for women’s basketball, and drawn from weekly conference honors along with at-large selections.

She was joined on the list by South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards, Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo, TCU guard Olivia Miles, and UConn forward Sarah Strong. Gonzaga’s Lauren Whittaker picked up the Tamika Catchings Freshman of the Week award, while Texas Tech walked away with Team of the Week honors.

Speaking of Crooks, she’s been in some scary form this season. She’s averaging  28.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. In 10 of her 12 outings, she’s dropped 20 or more, and she hasn’t scored fewer than 18 in any game. And it’s not just this year. The Algona, Iowa native has now posted double-digit points in 79 consecutive college games.

That’s not all! She’s already recorded 51 games with 20-plus points, which makes up more than 60 percent of her career. The junior now leads the nation in scoring, just ahead of Florida’s Liv McGill and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, and she’s doing it in only 26.1 minutes a night.

As if that wasn’t enough, Crooks is also one of the most efficient players in the country, knocking down a ridiculous 71.6 percent from the field.

And that wasn’t the end of it. Crooks’ dominance hasn’t only been recognised by the USBWA, but it’s now earned her praise from the AP as well.

Audi Crooks Named AP Women’s Basketball Player of the Week

Crooks took home the Associated Press National Player of the Week honor for Week 7, and it was fully deserved. After sitting out the Northern Iowa game with a head injury, she came roaring back against Kansas, turning in a statement performance that made the award a no-brainer.

Crooks poured in 41 of Iowa State’s 79 points, tying Lindsey Wilson for the most ever by a Cyclone in a regular-season Big 12 game, and she wasn’t done there, adding four rebounds and three assists to cap off a dominant night.  Another night, another 40-pointer.

It was Crooks’ third such game of the season, and no one else nationally is even close. And somehow, the stats keep getting crazier. She’s averaging more points than minutes played, a feat only one other player in college or pro basketball has pulled off this century: Joel Embiid with the 76ers in 2023–24.

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The one box still left unchecked for Crooks is winning when it matters most. She’s yet to lift a Big 12 regular-season or tournament title, and March Madness has only taken her as far as the second round so far. This season feels different. It feels like a real opportunity to change that story.

But can Crooks and Iowa State turn dominance into banners? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!