Iriafen carries No. 2 Stanford in OT without Brink to beat Iowa State
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Brooke Demetre hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 18 seconds left in overtime and Kiki Iriafen scored 11 of her career-high 41 points in OT, securing No. 2 Stanford a place in the Portland Regional with a thrilling 87-81 win over seventh-seeded Iowa State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night.
Addy Brown knocked down a 3 from the top of the arc with 31 seconds left in OT to put Iowa State ahead, only for Demetre to answer from nearly the same spot moments later — and six of her eight total points came on timely 3s. She also hit two free throws with 11.7 seconds left to help seal it.
Iriafen converted a three-point play with 3:41 left in overtime after drawing the fifth foul on star Iowa State freshman Audi Crooks and also contributed 16 rebounds and three blocks. Talana Lepolo added a 3 in the extra period and Iriafen had a go-ahead baseline jumper with 1:59 to go before scoring again the next time down.
The Cyclones' Emily Ryan hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:45 to play, another 3 in overtime and tying free throws with 1:03 left in OT to finish with 36 points in her gutsy, spectacular finale.
Crooks had made 18 of 20 shots in her career-best 40-point performance to spark Friday’s comeback win over Maryland, when the Cyclones trailed by 20.
On Sunday, Crooks missed her first three shots — more than she had the entire game Friday — and fouled out with 10 points, making just 3 of 21 shots.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness