It's safe to argue Iowa has been a state for some notable women's college hoops in recent years, not to go out on a limb or anything.

Still, there was a different feeling about last week's Cy-Hawk matchup between these two programs. Both the Cyclones and Hawkeyes have found plenty of success within the past decade, but the way that both managed to quickly regain that momentum has been impressive, and it culminated in a special down-to-the-wire matchup on Dec. 10.

More than half of this contest had a margin within two scores, and the game was tied at half. But the third quarter was dominated by Iowa State, who took that deadlock and turned it into a 17-point lead off a 25-8 run. The Cyclones took less than eight minutes of game time to do it, and it appeared that a statement rivalry win was relatively in the balance.

But then Iowa came back. It's something the Hawkeyes managed to do in plenty of games during the Caitlin Clark era, but back then, it often felt like it depended on a flurry of baskets to fall. Iowa was more reliant on an offensive barrage to turn the tides than to get consecutive stops.

This is not one of those Iowa teams. It was instead the Hawkeyes' defensive effort that turned a 63-48 Iowa State advantage into a five-point game halfway through the fourth quarter, shutting out the Cyclones for nearly four-and-a-half minutes.

Eventually Iowa had it within three, 65-62, with under four minutes to play. It was time for a National Player of the Year candidate to take over. This time around, that player was on the Cyclones.

Audi Crooks scored the next eight Iowa State points to finish with 30 in the game, withstanding the Hawkeye comeback and winning the Cy-Hawk 74-69. It was the Cyclones' first win in the series since a 77-70 win back on Dec. 8, 2021.

That 21-22 season is an important one in recent Iowa State history. Its 28 wins were not only the most in head coach Bill Fennelly's 30-year tenure with the Cyclones, but also the most of any team in program history. That group, led by Ashley Joens, got Iowa State to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010, but could not earn a third-ever trip to the Elite Eight.

Many of the same stars of that unit — namely Joens, Emily Ryan and Lexi Donarski — returned again in 22-23, but it ended in lackluster results: 22 wins and a first-round upset exit to Toledo. It was an unfortunate end of an important set of Cyclones teams, and it felt like a drop-off could follow.

Instead of a dropoff, Fennelly managed to pivot immediately into a new era, starting Crooks and Addy Brown as true freshmen nearly the entire season. The duo led the team in scoring and led Iowa State back to the NCAA Tournament in both of their underclassmen seasons, winning a first round matchup in both 2024 and 2025.

The fruits of this labor have shown up massively through Iowa State's 12-0 start. Crooks has elevated her game to superstar status (27.8 PPG, 72.2 FG%), continuously improving her positioning and craftiness around the basket to be more than a physical threat in the paint. She has tremendous touch and has added a fadeaway that has made her even more impossible to contain.

Crooks understandably gets the headlines for this Iowa State team, but Addy Brown's rise is about as important. She does everything for this Cyclones team: 14.5 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 5.6 APG while shooting 53.9% from the field and 47.4% from deep.

Brown and Arizona transfer Jada Williams (10.8 PPG, 7.3 APG) have been massive in keeping this offense moving, specifically around Crooks, with the duo combining for 76 assists to the star forward this season, by far the largest assist-scorer combinations on the team.

The win over Iowa was completely fueled by this trio. Behind Crooks' 30 points and 10 rebounds, Brown added 20 points, 12 boards, and five assists, while Williams finished with 11 points, five rebounds, and 12 assists. On the whole, Crooks, Brown and Williams finished with 82.4% of the team's points, 69.3% of the rebounds, and 77.3% of the assists in a monumental rivalry win.

Iowa's first Cy-Hawk defeat in four years did not come with outer thoughts of catastrophe or disappointment. A five-point defeat in Ames on the back of an impressive late comeback for the first loss of the season is what some would call a decent loss, and these Hawkeyes feel full of life remarkably quickly after the end of Clark's run.

The first year without not only Clark but also key starters Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall, as well as long-time head coach Lisa Bluder, went very well when considering all the departures listed above. These were not only incredible talents but also culture setters for a program that has had plenty of them in their storied history.

Jan Jensen's 25-year run as an associate head coach for the Hawkeyes meant that mindset would stay steady, and Iowa found its way right back into the tourney with a 23-win season. Lucy Olsen (17.9 PPG, 5.1 APG) was a great stopgap replacement for the type of abilities Clark brought to the offense.

But that Hawkeyes group felt different in the same way this year's does. Iowa has slowed down the pace from rapid fire (Top 30 in possessions per 40 minutes all four Clark years) down to ranks of 91st and, currently, 125th for this season. The defensive rating improved a few ticks last year and has soared so far in 25-26 to become a key strength.

Iowa feels more willing to go into the mud and drag wins out of the depths of hell than it used to. Since Clark arrived (2020-21), Iowa has held 10 opponents below 50 points. Six of those have come during the first 1.5 seasons of Jensen's tenure. Even more to this point: the Hawkeyes have 10 games in this same span where they have won with less than 70 points, and half of them are during the Jensen tenure.

Trying to simply make another offense like the one that Iowa had in the back-to-back runner-up seasons was always going to be impossible, so Jensen pivoted.

The Hawkeyes move the ball around tremendously, with a current 69.2% assist rate that would beat any of the four Clark seasons. They're also getting so many pieces involved, with a two-headed frontcourt of Ava Heiden (15.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG) and Hannah Stuelke (13.1 PPG, 8.7 RPG) leading the charge, and Georgia Tech transfer Chit-Chat Wright (11.1 PPG, 50.0 3PT%) joining four-year sharpshooter Taylor McCabe (9.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 43.4 3PT%) to give a real well-balanced attack for opponents to deal with.

Both Iowa and Iowa State had important heights just a few seasons back, and then were forced to do soft rebuilds after losing their cores. Both have managed to do so efficiently and effectively, and the results of that were on display last Wednesday night.

The Cyclones have an incredible head of the spear, a three-player force that has led them to a terrific start. Iowa has shown off more depth, an increased defensive intensity, and a whole lot of potential with underclassmen talent. The two rivals are not using the same formula, but both are bringing results.

It's December, but for now, Iowa State proved to have the advantage. Above all else, this game showed that both of the key programs in this state have arrived yet again. It wasn't a long slumber for either program — both barely took a nap — but they're already appearing to be back in full force.