AMES – As the Iowa State women’s basketball team rolled through its non-conference schedule, the Cyclones had only a couple of opponents that truly put up a fight.
Iowa State quickly found out that life in the Big 12 Conference will be far more challenging. But much more rewarding as well.
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Kenzie Hare sank a 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer as the 10th-ranked Cyclones overcame their first halftime deficit of the season and opened Big 12 play with a 79-76 win over Kansas at Hilton Coliseum on Dec. 21.
Audi Crooks, who missed the last game of Iowa State’s non-conference schedule after sustaining a head injury in the Iowa game, scored 41 points for the Cyclones in her return.
But the hero was Hare, who sank her only basket of the day as time expired to give Iowa State the thrilling win.
Iowa State improved to 13-0, one win from tying the best start in school history. The Cyclones opened the 2013-14 season with 14 straight wins.
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This one was the most difficult to get, though. There were only a few battles during the non-conference slate. The Cyclones held off previously undefeated Indiana during the Coconut Hoops event and survived a close call with in-state rival Iowa.
Iowa State Cyclones’ guard Kenzie Hare (12) celebrates with teammates after her game-winning shot against Kansas in the Big-12 conference home opener on Dec. 21, 2025, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
Sunday’s game was entirely different, with Iowa State and Kansas going back and forth in a matchup that featured five ties and 11 lead changes.
The Cyclones fell into an early hole. Freshman Libby Fandel, a Cedar Rapids Xavier alum, had 11 points in the first frame and helped give Kansas a 20-14 lead after the first quarter.
Iowa State battled back with a 6-0 run in the second quarter and took its first lead of the day on a layup by Addy Brown. It didn’t last, though.
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An 8-0 run gave Kansas the lead back. The Jayhawks got a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left in the quarter and went into halftime ahead up 34-32.
Things drastically changed for Iowa State in the third quarter as the Cyclones hit seven of their first eight shots to reclaim the lead.
Brown had four points in a 6-0 run and knocked down a pair of free throws that tied the game at 38-38. The biggest stretch for the Cyclones came later in the quarter.
With Crooks on the bench getting a break, backup Alisa Williams hit a jumper and a layup as part of a 6-0 run that gave Iowa State a 55-50 lead in the third quarter.
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The Cyclones went into the fourth quarter with a four-point lead and extended it to 11 points. Kansas clawed back with a 10-0 run and pulled to within 70-69. Kansas completed the comeback with S’Mya Nichols connecting on a game-tying layup with five seconds remaining.
Then Hare stepped up and hit her big 3.
Fandel finished with 18 points for the Jayhawks.
Iowa State continues Big 12 play on Dec. 31 when the Cyclones play at Houston at 1 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Kenzie Hare’s buzzer 3 lifts Iowa State women’s basketball vs Kansas
