STANFORD — Kiki Iriafen wouldn’t let Stanford lose, and Brooke Demetre saved the two biggest shots of her career for the biggest moment Sunday night as the Cardinal beat Iowa State 87-81 in an NCAA Women’s Tournament second-round game at Maples Pavilion.
Stanford (30-5) earned its 16th bid in the Sweet 16 and advanced with a win on the same floor in which the Cardinal was upset a year ago against Mississippi.
In the Portland 4 Regional, Stanford will face either No. 3 North Carolina State (28-6) or No. 6 Tennessee (20-12), who play Monday in Raleigh, N.C.
It was the 100th NCAA Tournament win for VanDerveer at Stanford as the Cardinal improved its record at Maples Pavilion in the tournament to 42-6.
Iriafen had 41 points and 16 rebounds for Stanford, with Iowa State senior guard Emily Ryan nearly matching her shot-for-shot with 36 points.
Demetre had a clutch 3-pointer to tie the score in the fourth quarter and then hit the 3-point shot that put the game away in the final minute of overtime.
Hannah Jump added 15 points for Stanford, with Addy Brown scoring 15 for the Cyclones.
Audi Crooks, the 6-foot-3 freshman post, had 10 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 3:41 left in overtime.
The Cardinal had a shot to win in regulation when Iriafen got a decent look at a baseline jumper over Crooks at the buzzer, but the ball rolled off with the score tied 66-66. Moments before, Crooks had a shot roll off the rim against Iriafen, who corralled the rebound to give Stanford a chance at the win.
Stanford forward Cameron Brink fouled out with 2:11 to play in the fourth quarter when Iowa State held a 64-63 lead. She finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
The game was tied 50-50 after three quarters, after which both Brink and Iriafen were in foul trouble. Brink picked up her third with 4:55 left in the quarter on a rebound foul and then her fourth at 1:28 when she fouled Crooks.
Iriafen, who had 24 points and 10 rebounds through three quarters received her third foul with 1:43 left in the quarter.
Stanford tightened things up defensively in the second half but shot just 36 percent (12-for-33) and trailed 33-31 with Ryan hitting a pair of foul shots after being fouled with one second remaining. The Cardinal was 3-for-11 on 3-point attempts.
Iriafen led Stanford with 16 points in seven rebounds, but Brink was just 1-for-5 and two points.
Ryan led Iowa State with 15 points, with Stanford keeping Crooks under control with five points and four rebounds on 2-for-10 shooting against the defense of Iriafen and Brink.
Iowa State took a 23-16 first-quarter lead not by forcing the ball inside to Crooks, but by taking advantage of 3-point opportunities, going 6-for-8 with Ryan hitting her third of the quarter for the final points of the quarter.
Hannah Belanger and Addy Brown each had a pair of 3-pointers for Iowa State, which at one point went on a 12-0 run in a span of 1:42 to seize the lead.
Iriafen had 10 first-quarter points for Stanford, which didn’t have a 3-pointer in the quarter.
Related Articles
NCAA Tournament: Winners (Mark Few, the ACC) and losers (John Calipari, the MW) from the first week of March Madness
Stanford’s roadblock to NCAA regional is Iowa State post Audi Crooks
Pac-2 survival: WSU, OSU hit jackpot from CFP, NCAAs during wild week
First-round NCAA Tournament exit disappointing end to Saint Mary’s magical season
NCAA Tournament: Grand Canyon upsets Saint Mary’s with dynamic display above the rim
On Iowa State’s first three attempts to feed Crooks inside, the freshman missed a fadeaway in the key with Brink defending, then had two entry passes slapped away by Brink. With 4:20 left in the first quarter, another fadeaway over Iriafen came up short and later had an inside shot roll off the rim also on Iriafen.
When Crooks finally did score, she backed down Brink and sent her sprawling, scoring inside with 1:59 left in the quarter
Included in the near-capacity crowd was 49ers’ quarterback Brock Purdy, who at present is Iowa State’s most famous alumnus.
+ There are no comments
Add yours