Stanford achieved its goal of getting out of Maples Pavilion but will go no further, as senior post Cameron Brink saw her career end on the bench in her hometown after fouling out early in the fourth quarter.
With both Brink and junior post Kiki Iriafen in foul trouble throughout, the No. 2 seeded Cardinal lost 77-67 Friday night to No. 3 North Carolina State at the Moda Center in Portland.
The Wolfpack (30-6) will face the winner of Friday’s late game between fourth-seeded Gonzaga and No. 1 Texas on Sunday for the right to play in next weekend’s Final Four in Cleveland.
In search of its 23rd appearance in the Elite Eight, Stanford, 30-6, saw the game unravel in the third quarter as guard Aziaha James took over and the Wolfpack worked on keeping Brink and Iriafen in foul trouble while the Cardinal struggled to keep up from the perimeter.
Stanford was just 5-for-25 from the 3-point line, with three of those makes coming from Hannah Jump. Two of those were in the first quarter. Brink played just 23 of 40 minutes, Iriafen 22 of 40.
“We’re not going to be successful with Cam and Kiki on the bench,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “We did not do a good job in keeping our best players on the court. On top of that, we need more help offensively from the perimeter.”
James led North Carolina with 29 points, including 16 in the third quarter and nine in the fourth quarter after a four-point first half. She had three 3-pointers in the second half, including one from Stephen Curry range in the fourth quarter.
By the time she fouled out, Brink had 13 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots. Iriafen, in foul trouble early, led Stanford with 26 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes with Jump adding 13.
Brink also fouled out in the Cardinal’s second-round win over Iowa State, but was thankful to end her career in her hometown even with the disappointing result.
“If I have to lose anywhere, in front of family and friends is how I want to do it,” Brink said. “Playing in front of them in my last college game ever really meant a lot to me and I think I’m really at peace with my career and how it went. We just came up short today. I’m sitting here feeling really lucky and really blessed.”
Trailing 60-49 with 8:10 to play, Brink picked up her fifth foul on a block. Not long afterward, Iriafen was whistled for her fourth foul with 6:47 to play down 63-50.
“After their game against Iowa State we knew it was possible to get their bigs in foul trouble,” guard Saniya Rivers said. “It definitely gave us some momentum.”
Rivers had 13 points and guard Zoe Brooks 12. After making just 33 percent of their shots in the first half (12-for-23), the Wolfpack was 15-for-27 in the second half.
VanDerveer conceded she didn’t agree with all the calls against Brink and Iriafen, but neither the head coach nor any of the players were blaming the officials.
“When you’re a senior, you’ve just got to figure out how to stay in the game,” VanDerveer said. “It’s very disappointing to have that happen.”
North Carolina State took charge in the third quarter, outscoring Stanford 28-10. When the quarter ended, Brink had four fouls and Iriafen three. Suddenly, instead of being in control, Stanford was in trouble, facing a 55-47 deficit going into the fourth quarter and its issues among their two best players looming large.
James had a 16-point third quarter for North Carolina State and had 20 points going into the fourth quarter after a four-point first half.
“We were going to her every possession,” North Carolina State coach Wes Moore said. “When you realize a player is on a roll like that, you’ve got to keep going to her.”
The Cardinal scored the last six points of the half to take a 37-27 lead into halftime, with Brink hitting a jumper with 1:23 to play for the 10-point margin.
Jump had 10 points, Brink nine, and Iriafen eight in just six minutes while finishing the half with two fouls. Although Brink and Iriafen weren’t on the court that often in the first half, they combined for 17 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocks in the half.
Despite a cold start offensively, Brink had a well-rounded first half that included a 3-point shot from the top of the key, eight rebounds, three assists, and five blocks. Two of her assists were kickout passes to Jump for 3-pointers, and the last one was a perfect back-cut pass to Elena Bosgana for a layup.
Next up for Brink is the WNBA Draft, where she’s projected to be a No. 2 overall pick behind Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.
“These four years, they say it goes by fast,” Brink said. “It really does. I feel like I freshman. I still feel like a kid. I’m really going to miss being coached by (Tara) even though I know she’s going to be in my corner the rest of my life. I’ve had an amazing coaching staff and played with some of the best players in the country and I’ve got lifelong friends. While this is very sad, I love these girls. I want to play basketball for as long as I can so I’m excited.”