With a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on the line, Iowa State took on Stanford for the right to move on. Both teams traded baskets all night and overtime was needed to settle the score.

Stanford had an answer for every move Iowa State made and after an additional five minutes, the Cardinal escaped the Cyclones 87-81.

Emily Ryan led the charge for Iowa State with a career-high 36 points, but it was not enough to move Iowa State to the next round.

Hot and cold first half sets tight second half

The first two quarters were polar opposites for Iowa State. A hot start led into a cold streak that kept the game tight.

Out of the gate, neither team could gain any traction. Multiple turnovers resulted from bad passes from the Cyclones, three-in-a-row at one point, and moving screens from the Cardinal.

Midway through the first quarter, the Cyclones trailed 13-8 before the tide started to turn. Iowa State went on a 12-0 run in the span of two minutes that included three 3-pointers.

Ryan drained another three with a few seconds remaining in the first quarter, which gave Iowa State the unprecedented lead 23-16 after one. Ryan was finding a rhythm, going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in the opening 10 minutes.

The Cyclones shot 8-for-14 and 6-for-8 from three in the first quarter and limited the turnovers that hurt them to begin the game.

The tone that was set outside was also felt inside but in a different way. Freshman Audi Crooks had trouble finishing over Stanford’s Cameron Brink in the first half.

Quarter two was a different story. The offense that Iowa State had went away quickly, and the Cyclones fell victim to a five-minute drought.

In response, Stanford used Iowa State’s struggles and turned them into points. The Cardinal went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 23 before Iowa State senior Hannah Belanger made a basket from the elbow to stop the bleeding.

The high efficiency in the first did not follow into the second either. Iowa State shot 4-for-15, which accounted for the drought.

The Cyclones went 0-for-2 from three in the second quarter but found a few baskets inside. Despite the drought, Iowa State kept the game close and went into halftime with a 33-31 lead.

Overtime went the way of the Cardinal

Foul trouble set in for both teams, primarily for Brink and Crooks. Brink fouled out in the fourth quarter and did not play in overtime. Crooks fouled out early in overtime, which left the inside forces out for the finish.

Crooks finished her night with 10 points on an uncharacteristic 3-for-21 shooting. The height of the Stanford post players was a much different matchup than Maryland’s, who Crooks scored 40 against two days prior.

To get to overtime, neither team ran away with a lead in the second half. The largest lead of the second half was when Stanford went on a 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter to lead 55-50.

Iowa State answered with a 3-pointer from Ryan that would later tie the game at 57, which forced Stanford to call a timeout and regroup. Later, Ryan canned another that put the Cyclones up 64-61 with under four minutes to play.

Stanford took the lead back before freshman Addy Brown, who finished with 15 points and shot 4-for-5 from three, tied the game to force overtime with a driving layup.

In the overtime period, it felt like no one could miss. Stanford and Iowa State went shot-for-shot nearly every possession right up until the final 18 seconds. On the in-bound play, Ryan threw the ball to Brown, who could not finish a tough double-teamed layup.

Down two, Iowa State fouled to try and stay alive. Stanford made all four of its free throws in the final seconds to ice the game and take the win.

Stanford junior Kiki Iriafen led the charge with 41 points to lead the Cardinal onto the Sweet Sixteen.

Emily Ryan takes over again

The senior leader for Iowa State once again showcased her ability to lead her team. With Crooks shut down inside, Ryan became the one to lead the offense not just by facilitating but by scoring.

With 36 points on 12-for-21 shooting, Ryan had her highest point total of her career. She also led rebounds and assists with nine and four, respectively, and added two blocks and a steal to her big night.

Ryan was the hot hand early from beyond the arc but later found her way inside for some short jumpers and layups.

The threes would later find their way in again for Ryan. A three with seven minutes to go tied the game up at 57 to answer the 5-0 Stanford run that opened the fourth quarter.

Despite her game, Iowa State’s season ended with a loss to Stanford. The Cyclones took a group of five freshmen to the Big 12 Championship game in a 20-win season and made the NCAA Tournament.

Ryan will return to Iowa State next season to lead the team again.