Kiki Iriafen made sure that Stanford wouldn’t be one of the big second round upsets in this year’s women’s March Madness.
No. 2 seed Stanford beat No. 7 Iowa State in overtime, in spite of Cameron Brink’s foul trouble and in large part thanks to Iriafen’s career-high 41 points – 11 of which came in OT.
“She’s a warrior out there,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “She gave an All-American performance out there tonight… This was a heavyweight fight, we had a great fighter out there.”
VanDerveer, who this year became the winningest coach in college basketball history, also said that the team’s game against the Cyclones is “why you do this.”
“This is the type of game you learn a lot about your team,” she said. “They battled, they stayed with things, they stayed together.”
The second round wasn’t without its upsets elsewhere, however. No. 7 seed Duke knocked off No. 2 seed Ohio State, 75-63, despite the Buckeyes leading by as much as 16 points. Duke guard Reigan Richardson led the comeback with 28 points.
No. 5 seed Colorado also upended No. 4 seed Kansas State on their home floor, while No. 5 Baylor got the better of No. 4 Virginia Tech.
The second round continues today, which includes three-straight can’t miss matchups on…
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