(Stanford, CA) – The Iowa State Cyclones battled all the way down to the line, even forcing the game into overtime and falling to Stanford 87-81. Iowa State finished the season with a 21-12 record and 12-6 in Big XII action.
With the game tied at 61-61 and 4:00 left to play, the Cyclones continued to rely on Emily Ryan who was the driving force for Iowa State. With time coming close to running out and over 11 seconds left, the Cyclones scored to tie things at 66-66. Stanford couldn’t make the final shot which forced the game into overtime.
Stanford came out to score first in overtime, and after the teams battled back and Crooks fouled out, Stanford was able to drive on and win the game. ISU continued to try to drive down low, but Emily Ryan couldn’t do it all as the Cyclones fell in overtime. Head Coach Bill Fennelly had nothing but positive remarks to say about “one of his most favorite teams to coach.”
The Cardinals were led on the night by Kiki Iriafen who had a game-high 41 points and 16 rebounds for a double-double while also dishing out four assists and slapping away three blocks. The only other double-digit scorer was Hannah Jump with 15 points shooting 6-12 from the floor. Cameron Brink had an off night of eight points and eight rebounds, fouling out early in the fourth quarter of action.
Iowa State was led in the game by Emily Ryan for her career-high 36 points, marking her first-ever 30-point game. Those 36 points marked the second-highest single-game total in Iowa State NCAA Tournament history. That matches the same mark set by Ashley Joens that was set in 2022. Ryan wished that she was able to knock down even more buckets tonight so that she could continue this amazing season.
Coming up behind Ryan was Addy Brown who helped carry the Cyclones to overtime and had a total of 18 points and five boards while shooting 7-11 from the field. Audi Crooks just could not get the shots to fall tonight, going just 3-21 from the field for a total of 10 points and eight boards.
Iowa State is now 22-22 in the NCAA Tournament all-time, Head Coach Bill Fennelly has been holding the reigns for all 22 tournament wins. Despite shooting above 60% from beyond the arc and shooting 44.6%, the Cyclones were not able to haul in a victory at the end of the night. The Cyclones also outrebounded the Cardinals 42-36 and in second-chance points 13-9.
Stanford will take on the winner between #6-seeded Tennessee and #3 NC State on March 29th.
