Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Bishop Garrigan's Audi Crooks grabs a rebound in the Gael gym during the regular season.

Audi Crooks has been working for this opportunity ever since she first picked up a basketball.

Now the entire state of Iowa will get a chance to see the freshman phenom.

Countless hours in the gym, perfecting and honing her craft, have helped make the Bishop Garrigan freshman phenom one of the top players in the state.

“I practice on my own four to five times a week,” Crooks said. “I either stay late after practice and get some shots up, or go to the YMCA, or shoot in my driveway.

“I’ll go and shoot on the weekends, too.”

Crooks has helped lead fourth-ranked Bishop Garrigan back to the Class 1A state tournament after a one-year hiatus.

Crooks, who comes from an athletic family, has grown up around the game. Her father Jimmie Crooks was a part of the the Dodger basketball team and a 1985 FDSH graduate.

Her mother, Michelle (Vitzthum) Cook, is on Garrigan’s all-time scoring charts.

Head coach Brandon Schwab has been in awe of Crooks’ drive and work ethic on the court.

“We knew she was a dynamic player from junior high and AAU,” Schwab said. “She has worked her whole life to be in this position.

“Her drive is nothing short of incredible.”

The Garrigan freshman has concentrated on the value of repetition and persistence.

“My work ethic has a lot to do with achieving goals,” Crooks said. “I set a goal for myself, and if I reach it, I set a higher one.

“What you put into the process will show up in the product.”

Although she’s not perfect, all of Crooks’ workouts end with the same routine.

“When I’m in the gym, I end at the free throw line,” Crooks said. “I have to make 10 free throws before I leave the gym.”

The 6-foot-3 past player has already been getting looks from schools around the midwest, but with three years of high school still on the horizon, there is plenty of time for the recruiting game down the road.

“Going to state my first year is a blessing,” Crooks said. “It feels like all the work I’ve put in in the offseason has paid off.”

With the possibility of three games remaining this year, Crooks has a chance to break the all-time freshman scoring record. She enters the state tournament with 550 points — 72 behind the mark of Pocahontas Area’s Elle Ruffridge (612).

Crooks’ 235 made field goals is the most for a freshman in the history of Iowa basketball, and currently fifth in the state. Her 72.1 percent field goal shooting (235-for-356) is second best all-time for a freshman, and second in the state.

Crooks is second in 1A in scoring (22.9) behind Montezuma’s Shateah Wetering (23.3) and eighth in the state.

Crooks is also solid on the glass, pulling down the seventh-most in the state (275) and third best in 1A. She averages 11.5 per contest. She has the third most blocks in 1A (81).

On Wednesday evening, Crooks and the Golden Bears face Martensdale St. Mary’s (18-8) at 6:45 p.m. inside Wells Fargo Arena in a Class 1A quarterfinal.

“W’re focused on and off the court in hopes of meeting our end goal at state,” Crooks said. “There isn’t one ounce of quit in this team.”