Iowa State freshman leads Cyclones to huge comeback win

Crooks scored 40 points on 18-for-20 shooting in her first tournament game as the Cyclones came back to beat Maryland, 93-86.

It's the second-most points in a woman's NCAA Tournament debut, only behind Barbara Kennedy of Clemson, back in 1982. The only other woman to put up 40 in her tournament debut was also from 1982 when LaTaunya Pollard put up 40 points for Long Beach State.

The Terrapins led by 20 points late in the second quarter, thanks to an outside shooting barrage from Allie Kubek, who made five three-pointers in the first half and finished with seven. But she was no match for Crooks' dominant inside game. She scored nine points in the third and didn't miss as Iowa State erased the deficit.

The performance evoked Brittney Griner, the only other Big 12 woman to score 40 in a March Madness game. Crooks fell just two points short of the Iowa State single-game scoring record, but perhaps she can improve with more than one tournament game under her belt.

Iowa State has a magical win. And women’s basketball may have a new superstar.