For the second-straight NCAA Tournament, the Stanford Cardinal faced a fourth-quarter deficit on their home court in the second round, staring down the possibility of a stunning upset.
As the Pac-12 player of the year Cameron Brink spent most of the night in foul trouble against No. 7 Iowa State, the No. 2 Cardinal turned to their other twin tower to carry them home. After being limited to five scoreless minutes off the bench in the 2023 loss to Ole Miss, Kiki Iriafen scored 41 points, tied for ninth all-time in a single NCAA Tournament game, and added 16 rebounds and four assists, leading Stanford to an 87-81 victory in overtime. The Cardinal advanced to the Sweet 16 to face the winner of No. 3 NC State vs. No. 6 Tennessee.
SWEET SIXTEEN BOUND#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/xw0AyZQYor
— Stanford WBB 🤓🏀 (@StanfordWBB) March 25, 2024
There was nothing Iriafen couldn’t do. The conference’s most improved player scored in every which way against Audi Crooks and the No. 7 Cyclones. She drilled jumpers. She faced up from a distance and blew past her defender. She posted up and finished through contact. Iriafen was also massive on defense, forcing first-round darling Audi Crooks into 3-of-21 shooting as Iowa State collectively shot 12 of 27 on layups.
Stanford needed everything…
