28.1 seconds on the clock. Haley Jones to inbound. The Rebels and Cardinal tied 49-49. The former tournament NCAA Tournament MOP dishes the ball to the corner. Defended well. It's passed back. NO! Jones loses it! Madison Scott makes the steal! A pair of free throws for the Rebels puts them up 2.
22 seconds now. Jones gets the pass, now driving to the basket. Double team! She pivots. Looks for a teammate. Desperation. NO! The ball slips for her hands and bounces out of bounds with a mocking ambivalence.
Rebel ball.
Foul.
Free throws.
Steal.
Foul.
Free throws.
The buzzer.
No. 8 Ole Miss takes down No. 1 Stanford in the second round.
Devastation sweeps across Maples.
Somebody pens the dumbest comment on Youtube ever under the highlight video:
(We did it. We found Greg Sankey's burner.)
One year later, Maples Pavilion was PACKED, eager this year to move past that stunning loss... and to move past the second round. Electricity was in the air on Sunday night as the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal prepared to take on the No. 7 Iowa State Cyclones in the Round of 32.
Both teams brought alumni talismen, hoping to turn the tide in their favor. San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Brock Purdy—emanating relevance—sat courtside to support his Iowa State Cyclones. Stanford boasted Condoleezza Rice, a prominent public figure known for her role in an administration infamous for bending to malicious corporate interests: the College Football Playoff Selection Commitee.
All eyes were on two players.
The first was Iowa State freshman Audi Crooks, a breakout sensation who smiled her way to 40 points on 18-20 shooting in a 20 point comeback in the first round—one point shy of the largest comeback in tournament history.
The second was Stanford senior Cameron Brink, a First Team AP All-American and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Finalist who was about to play her last game in Maples Pavilion with the Cardinal.
The game began, and a fate decided to tell a different story, with different main characters.
"I kind of just remembered where we were at last year. It wasn't a great taste in our mouth. I feel like this whole season we had this loss last year in the back of our minds. We didn't want that to happen two years in a row. Also for our seniors, for Cameron, Hannah, we didn't want this to be our last game. We wanted to get to Portland. This is not the end of our season." - Kiki Iriafen
For the Cardinal it was Kiki Iriafen who took center stage. Brink racked up fouls very quickly. She'd go to the bench frequently throughout the game, eventually fouling out in the fourth quarter and finishing a 45 minute overtime thriller with just 23 minutes played. Iriafen stole the show, scoring down low and in the mid-range with a ferocity that rivals any I've ever seen. She tallied 10 points and 3 rebounds halfway through the first quarter and never looked back. She'd finish with this insane statline:
"I'm really, really proud of our team and how far we've come in a year, and Kiki, I just -- my hat's off to you how hard you played. You're an absolute warrior." - Coach Tara VanDerveer on Kiki Iriafen
On the Cyclones side, Audi Crooks was well-contained by both Iriafen and Brink (when on the court). The Cardinal notched 10 blocks, most of which were in the post against Crooks, who went 3-21 from the field for just 10 points. The suffocation of Crooks led to the emergence of Emily Ryan, who would go shot for shot with Iriafen through four quarters AND overtime. When I say this was a match for the ages, I mean it: Iriafen and Ryan were unfathomably excellent in this game, their lockstep / yin and yang performance forcing me to add their totals to my live tweets:
Ryan would finish with a career-high 36 points, plus 9 rebounds and 4 assists. She deserves her flowers.
Iowa State held a small lead through the first three and a half quarters, but Stanford, absolutely CARRIED by Iriafen, consistently challenged it, never trailing by more than 7. Besides Ryan's stellar play, the Cyclones were powered by INSANE three point play. They would finish the night 12-19 from deep (63%)—a combination of both weak perimeter defense and otherwordly luck / shotmaking.
Stanford's Brooke Demetre was a hero off the bench, nailing two of the clutchest three-pointers ever shot into the sky: one to help force OT and one to ice the game.
"Yeah, Tara calls Brooke Steady Eddie and she's always ready. You can always count on Brooke... we definitely would not have won this game without Brooke's contributions tonight." - Hannah Jump
A tension in Maples mounted as the fourth quarter drew to a close, Brink having fouled out, the lead changing every other possession. Demetre's first three prevented defeat, and Iriafen had a chance for a step-back buzzer beater. With two defenders and her balance thrown off, it rimmed out.
What then commenced was one of the most bonkers 5-minute overtimes in the history of college basketball.
Between the two teams, there were 36 points scored in OT, as many points or more than the entire 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters. Together, the two teams were 5/5 from the three point line and 9-9 from the FT line. Stanford was 85% from the field while Iowa State was a measly 58%. I can't even appropriately cram this game into a narrative, you simply need to go watch it.
Demetre's aforementioned second three iced the game in favor of Stanford. The foul game commenced, and Stanford shot 7-7 from the charity stripe in the waning minutes.
A buzzer.
Raucous cheers from a home team crowd.
The bench storms the court in celebration like they're Kim Mulkey on January 6th (hyperbole, don't sue me).
Brock Purdy hangs his head for a second time this year.
No. 2 Stanford takes down No. 7 Iowa State in the second round.
The shame of failed competition washed away by the sands of time, as we add days and rounds between us and that devestating Ole Miss meltdown.
Stanford will take on No. 3 seed NC State in the Sweet Sixteen this Friday (time TBD) in Cameron Brink's hometown of Portland.
Between senior Kiana Williams winning the national championship in her home town of San Antonio in 2021, the senior Hull sisters winning the Elite Eight in their home town of Spokane in 2022, and now senior Cameron Brink headed to Portland, Stanford WBB has some good karma headed its way. Channel Tree will be on the ground in Portland to watch the Cardinal continue their march to Cleveland, which hosts this year's Final Four.
"Cleveland was something that was in my mind today."
Oh we could tell, Kiki.
--Fear The Me.