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AMES — While her two post counterparts watched on the Iowa bench, Audi Crooks wielded the final dagger from the free throw line.

The nation’s leading scorer, Crooks (30 points, 10 rebounds) decisively won the conflict in the paint, and 10th-ranked Iowa State held off No. 11 Iowa, 74-69, in a non-conference women’s basketball game before a crowd of 14,009 Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum.

The “battle of the bigs” was a big advantage indeed for the Cyclones, who improved to 11-0 for the first time since 2013-14.

“Asserting ourselves early in the game, getting them in foul trouble, that allowed us to flow more smoothly,” Crooks said.

The Cyclones snapped a three-game losing streak to their p

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