PALO ALTO, CALIF. — Audi Crooks took a moment to herself, standing near the sideline while her teammates warmed up before she played in the first NCAA tournament game of her career Friday night. The Iowa State freshman closed her eyes, tugged on her shooting shirt and breathed deep.
She would need every bit of that oxygen before putting on an absolute show inside Maples Pavilion on Stanford’s campus. The all-American honorable mention center was an immovable force for 34 minutes as she poured in 40 points on 18-for-20 shooting and added 12 rebounds to lead the No. 7 seed Cyclones to a come-from-behind 93-86 victory over No. 10 seed Maryland.
