Stanford Survives Iowa State in Overtime to Advance to the Sweet 16
STANFORD, Calif. – No. 2-seeded Stanford (30-5,15-3 Pac-12) fought off a talented No. 7 Iowa State (21-12, 12-6 Big 12) squad in overtime to earn a trip to the Sweet 16. With last season’s second-round exit in mind, Kiki Iriafen led the Cardinal with a career-high 41 points plus 16 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Late in the game, the junior forward remembered the feeling of losing on her home court to help propel her team past the Cyclones.
“I think I started the game off hot, and then in the second half I kind of just remembered where we were at last year. It wasn’t a great taste in our mouth. I feel like this whole season we had this loss last year in the back of our minds.
We didn’t want that to happen two years in a row. Also for our seniors, for Cameron, Hannah, we didn’t want this to be our last game. We wanted to get to Portland. This is not the end of our season. We wanted to make it to Cleveland.”
While Stanford earned an early lead and looked like they would keep Iowa State at bay for the duration of the contest, the tables turned fast due to a barrage of three-pointers from the Cyclones late in the first quarter to give the visitors the lead heading into the second period. Senior guard Emily Ryan and freshman forward Addy Brown had two treys each in the last minute and a half of the first stanza giving their team a 23-16 advantage after the first ten minutes.
Stanford fought back in the second period, with an offensive output spurred by Iriafen and grad student guard Hannah Jump plus defense from senior forward Cameron Brink who had four rebounds and two blocks in the quarter. Stanford outscored ISU 15-10 in the second ten minutes. The Cyclones led 99-31 at the break.
The game took on a higher level of intensity in the third quarter as ISU”s continued their relentless three-point party and went toe-to-toe with Stanford even as their star freshman, center Audi Crooks, was stifled offensively. Crooks, who scored 40 points two nights before in her team’s tournament opener against Maryland, was not as effective scoring against Stanford. However, that didn’t deter her team as Ryan let shots fly and frustrated Stanford’s defense possession after possession.
Cardinal head coach Tara VanDerveer said that her team worked hard on defense, but ISU still scored: “Even when we were working hard, they still hit some good shots.”
In the end, Stanford had some key contributions from junior forward Brooke Demetre, who helped change the game’s momentum with a couple of three-pointers with about a minute left in regulation. Her team went into overtime without Cameron Brink, the program’s leading shot blocker and rebounder, who fouled out in the last two minutes.
In overtime, Crooks fouled out at 3:41 and sent Iriafen to the line. Demetre made two free throws with 11 seconds to go which sealed the game.
Jump was also in double figures for Stanford with 15 points.
Ryan led ISU with 36 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Brown scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds. Crooks finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, below her season average of 18.5 points per game.
Stanford will play the winner of the second-round game between No. 6-seed Tennessee and No. 3 NC State in Portland on March 25.
