Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer left speechless after Kiki Iriafen's career game in win over Iowa State
Just one season after they found themselves being sent home in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the No. 2-seed Stanford Cardinal were on the ropes again on Sunday.
Iowa State was able to go shot-for-shot with Stanford, and had even gotten Pac-12 Player of the Year Cameron Brink to foul out. However, even with Brink having a very quiet night, Stanford was doing just fine relying on Kiki Iriafen who finished the game with a career-high 41 points and 16 rebounds along with three blocks. The game eventually went to overtime thanks to a couple of Brook Demetre threes, but it seemed whenever the Cyclones came up with a potential dagger, it was Iriafen there to answer with a smooth mid-range jumper.
After the 87-81 victory, head coach Tara VanDerveer was asked about Iriafen's performance, and at first, all she could say was "whoa".
She later added in what was a heavyweight bout, Iriafen was the big hitter of the game.
βThis was a heavyweight fight, we had a great fighter out there,β VanDerveer said.
With the win, Stanford is now set to take on No. 3-seed NC State who just beat in No. 6 Tennessee. The two teams will square off on Friday in Portland.