For the second-straight NCAA Event, the Stanford Cardinal confronted a fourth-quarter deficit on their house courtroom within the second spherical, staring down the opportunity of a shocking upset.
Because the Pac-12 participant of the yr Cameron Brink spent a lot of the night time in foul bother towards No. 7 Iowa State, the No. 2 Cardinal turned to their different twin tower to hold them house. After being restricted to 5 scoreless minutes off the bench within the 2023 loss to Ole Miss, Kiki Iriafen scored 41 factors, tied for ninth all-time in a single NCAA Event recreation, and added 16 rebounds and 4 assists, main Stanford to an 87-81 victory in additional time. The Cardinal superior to the Candy 16 to face the winner of No. 3 NC State vs. No. 6 Tennessee.
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There was nothing Iriafen couldn’t do. The convention’s most improved participant scored in each which approach towards Audi Crooks and the No. 7 Cyclones. She drilled jumpers. She confronted up from a distance and blew previous her defender. She posted up and completed by contact. Iriafen was additionally large on protection, forcing first-round darling Audi Crooks into 3-of-21 capturing as Iowa State collectively shot 12 of 27 on layups.
Stanford wanted every little thing out of Iriafen in a recreation that was within the stability for 45 minutes. Neither workforce led by greater than two possessions after the primary quarter. There have been 12 ties and 18 lead adjustments, and Iowa State was up 1 with 31 seconds to play earlier than a cold-blooded 3-pointer from Brooke Demetre proved decisive. Demetre collected the rebound after Addy Brown missed the potential tying bucket on the next possession, and the Cardinal — and the nervous house crowd at Maples Pavilion — may lastly breathe.
In what ought to grow to be an prompt basic, Iowa State delivered the primary blow. The Cyclones went up seven within the first quarter because of scorching capturing past the arc and regular playmaking from senior guard Emily Ryan, who cashed in three triples of her personal. Stanford placed on the clamps within the second quarter and squeezed simply sufficient offense out of Iriafen and capturing guard Hannah Soar to drag inside two, establishing a barn burner of a second half.
Ryan was dazzling off the dribble and along with her step-back jumper, totaling a career-best 36 factors, although her 10 turnovers gave the Cardinal further alternatives. Whereas Crooks was bottled up by Iriafen and Brink and fellow freshmen Brown and Jalynn Bristow have been unbothered, chipping in 25 factors, together with 10 in additional time.
Stanford discovered simply sufficient outdoors of Iriafen’s manufacturing. Brink had 5 blocks in her 22 minutes and added eight factors and eight rebounds. Soar was the main target of many Iowa State schemes — the Cyclones even threw a box-and-one on the tremendous senior on one possession — however she pounced on each defensive miscue to attain 15. Nunu Agara was tasked with defending Ryan and was accountable for a number of of these 10 turnovers. And Demetre got here up with the clutch buckets, the one 3-pointers she’s ever made within the NCAA Event outdoors of rubbish time.
Even with the sport of Iriafen’s life, the Cardinal nonetheless barely prevented a large disappointment. Two straight years of bowing out on their house courtroom — after being upset within the convention event every season — would have forged doubt on Stanford’s toughness.
As an alternative, coach Tara VanDerveer and her workers have been in a position to push the best buttons to maintain Iriafen going and optimize their bench. Super shotmaking on each side prevented both workforce from constructing a large lead, however the vital takeaway for the Cardinal was after they wanted to execute offensively, they have been in a position to.
Neither workforce deserved to lose, however Stanford was a worthy winner behind Iriafen. The participant VanDerveer may barely discover minutes for a yr in the past rocketed into the nationwide highlight with among the finest event performances in current reminiscence and saved her squad dancing.
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(Photograph: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Photographs)