Heartbreaking finish leaves Cyclones out of the Sweet Sixteen
Fell short in a tremendous basketball game
Audi Crooks. Cameron Brink. Kiki Iriafen.
All the makings of a tremendous basketball game, and boy did it live up to the hype.
With Stanford making it clear as day that they’d be feeding the post (mostly Iriafen, but we’ll get to that) all game, the Cyclones needed an answer, and fast. And when push comes to shove, there’s no one I want on my team than Audi Cro… Wait. The Cyclones didn’t feed Audi the entire time in the first quarter? Rather, they did to Stanford what Maryland did to them. The shot it from the perimeter and shot it well. Led by Emily Ryan, the Cyclones launched a barrage of three-pointers to counter the inside game by Iriafen, and boy was it working out well for them. The Cyclones hung tough with the opening presence of Stanford, knocking down a pair of threes in the opening 3 minutes to keep the game close at 8-6. Hannah Belanger then knocked down a long two to answer a layup from Brink, keeping the Cyclones within a possession. After the Cardinal pushed the lead to five at 13-8, the Cyclones answered with a massive run. It kicked off with a free throw and then a layup from Audi Crooks and was immediately followed by back-to-back-to-back threes by Brown, Ryan, and then Brown again. Just like that, the Cyclones were up 20-13 and Stanford had to call time with just under a minute to go. Ryan then capped off the quarter working a nice pick and pop play with Addy Brown, canning an open three in the waning seconds, pushing the Cyclones lead back to seven at 23-16.
I’m just going to go ahead and say we can skip over the second quarter. The Cyclones went scoreless the first 4:55 and somehow, through it all, till found themselves leading at that point 25-23. Stanford took the lead on a Jzaniya Harriel three, but the Cyclones weren’t phased by their shooting slump and managed to regain the lead just before the half on a pair of Emily Ryan free throws. 33-31 Cyclones.
The third quarter saw the Cyclones start to attack the basket more. Whether with Crooks in the post, or with Emily Ryan and Addy Brown driving to the basket. That worked for a while, despite Crooks’ struggles as Brink and Iriafen were just suffocating in the low post. Jalynn Bristow even got in on the scoring with a nice layup plus the foul to put the Cyclones up four at 44-40 capping off a mini 5-0 run to take the lead back with about half the period remaining. Iowa State maintained that small margin of a lead for much of the remaining quarter, but Stanford had some tricks up it’s sleeve to draw the game even at 50 as we headed into the fourth quarter.
NFL Playoffs Super Bowl Game Get NFL playoff game info for super bowl game including game lines, betting odds, dates, seeds, and more for upcoming playoff games.
Stanford started the fourth quarter hot, knocking down back-to-back buckets to take a 55-50 lead, forcing an Iowa State timeout. The Cyclones then went at Cameron Brink and her four fouls as Crooks finally found enough space to find a bucket down low. Brown then found some space around the elbow and connected from there, cutting the lead back down to one. After a Brink jumper, Emily Ryan hit yet another three-pointer to tie things up at 57 with 7:06 to go. The teams then went quiet until the under 5:00 timeout, but that was bout the quietest it got the remainder of the game. For every Iowa State bucket, Stanford found and answer and for every Stanford answer, Iowa State found another bucket. Cameron Brink then fouled out with 2:11 to go and the Cardinal down one, but the foul wasn’t called in the act of shooting and a tech was questionable never called as Brink had some not-so-family-friendly words for the official as she walked to the bench, and the lead stayed at just one, 64-63. Then, just as we all predicted, the hero for Stanford showed up. Brook Demetre. Yes, you read that correctly. Someone who hadn’t taken a shot all game knocked down a three to give Stanford the lead back. Iowa State found the answer as Addy Brown got a layup to go with 1:13 to go. Demetre tried to go back to the cookie jar, but her second shot attempt rimmed out and the Cyclones had their chance. Unfortunately, Addy Brown missed a fairly good look for a three, but the rebound came back out to her and the Cyclones could kill some more clock. With just 20 seconds to go, they found Audi on the low block and her shot attempt finally got over the outstretched arm of Kiki Iriafen, but the bounce that had gone the Cyclones’ way in both matchups vs. Baylor, did not have their back again. The ball trickled off the rim and Stanford would hold for the final shot, where Iriafen got off a good look from the baseline, but the shot bounced out and we got ourselves five free minutes of basketball. 66-66 at the end of forty minutes.
This overtime was probably the single greatest offensive overtime of all time. By both teams. Back and forth the teams went again, but rather than attacking the post, both teams just traded threes. Ryan gave the Cyclones the lead, then Iriafen got an and one (that fouled Audi Crooks out of the game), then Addy Brown made a three, then Talana Lepolo made a three. 74-72 the Cardinal led it just two minutes into OT. Jalynn Bristow made back to back buckets surrounding a pair of Iriafen buckets and it was 78-76 with just 1:21 to go in the extra frame. Emily Ryan drove to the bucket and got a pair of free throws to stick to tie it before Iriafen inched closer to the 40-point threshold with a pair of her own, giving the Cardinal the lead with 54 seconds left. Then, as they’d done all year, the freshmen class responded. Addy Brown found an open look off the feed from Emily Ryan from the right wing and absolutely buried a triple to give the Cyclones the 81-80 lead with just 33 seconds left. Then, wouldn’t you know it… That unknown hero showed up once again. Brooke Demetre found as good a look as she could get and drained a three ball with just 19 seconds remaining. Iowa State called time to advance the ball, but on the inbounds play, Addy Brown couldn’t get the roll on a tough layup and who else but Brooke Demetre to get the rebound. She knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a four point game, and the Cyclones turned it over on their next possession trying to find Isnelle Natabou under the basket for the quick two, and the game was virtually over. Kiki Iriafen made a pair of free throws to eclipse 40 points, and the Cyclones’ season came to a heartbreaking end, 87-81.
While Emily Ryan’s career-high 36 points wasn’t enough, there was plenty to be excited about for the future of the Cyclones. They return almost everyone (we will absolutely miss Nyamer Diew and Hannah Belanger next year) while adding Alisa Williams (LSU Transfer) who took a redshirt this year, and a pair of exciting freshmen in Ali Tanke from Johnston, Iowa and Reagan Wilson from Noblesville, Indiana. This team more than put itself on the map in what should’ve been a rebuilding year. Instead, all they did was rack up as many Top 25 wins as just about anyone while making the Big 12 Tournament Championship after getting a Top 4 seed in the conference and damn near beating Stanford at Stanford in the Round of 32. It’s been an absolute pleasure writing for this team this year, and I know I speak for everyone when I say that I’m proud of how this team handled everything and how they grew as the year progressed. The future is bright, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Thanks for an awesome season, ladies. We’ll see you back here next year.