No. 4 Stanford women top No. 13 Florida State 100-88 to win Ball Dawgs Classic

Nov 25, 2023, 05:03 am

HENDERSON, Nev. -- — Kiki Iriafen had 30 points and 17 rebounds, and No. 4 Stanford beat No. 13 Florida State 100-88 on Friday night in the championship game of the Ball Dawgs Classic.

Stanford (6-0) overcame an early seven-point deficit thanks to defensive adjustments against the up-tempo Seminoles and outscored Florida State 72-54 over the final three quarters. The Cardinal’s point total was their season high.

Iriafen was named tournament MVP after combining for 44 points and 26 rebounds in two games.

“I think the biggest thing for us the first half was just catching our breaths,” said Iriafen, whose double-double was her third this season. “They’re really fast, they’re used to that tempo. We’re fast too, but not as fast as that. So just more so getting our first wind in, and I think once we got that we adjusted defensively, kind of stopped their drives.”

Cameron Brink finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots for the Cardinal before fouling out. Hannah Jump added 17 points and Elena Bosgana scored 16.

Ta’Niya Latson led Florida State (5-1) with 23 points. O’Mariah Gordon scored 19 points, Sara Bejedi added 13, Alexis Tucker 12 and Makayla Timpson 10.

The Cardinal opened the third quarter on a 12-2 run, including a pair of 3-pointers from Jump.

Iriafen scored 12 of her points in the third, while Brink facilitated things at both ends of the floor with five rebounds and three blocked shots.

“We got tired. We couldn’t defend them,” Florida State coach Brooke Wyckoff said. “We were outmatched in the paint, we’re undersized and it takes a lot of energy. It was a track meet. We came out shooting well and then we weren’t able to get stops and get into our rhythm and we stopped hitting shots, got tired a little bit.”

Florida State hit 15 of 28 (53.6%) from the floor in the opening quarter, getting 10 points from Latson and opening a 34-28 lead.

An adjustment to its perimeter defense helped Stanford in the second quarter. The Cardinal took a 52-48 lead into halftime.

“I was a little bit out of my comfort zone, I was guarding a two-guard, she was really fast, she was really good,” Iriafen said. “So I was more so working on my perimeter defense. Cam and I believe in each other, we have each other’s back, so I knew when we needed her and she wasn’t able to help us, that I was right there for her.”

BIG PICTURE

Florida State has had at least four double-figure scorers in all six of its games this season.

Brink moved past Lexie Hull on Stanford’s all-time scoring list, now at No. 25 with 1,413 points. She is on pace to finish with 555 points, which would move her into the program’s Top 10.

UP NEXT

Florida State: Hosts Arkansas on Thursday.

Stanford: Hosts Albany on Sunday.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball