PORTLAND, Ore. — Aziaha James had 29 points and third-seeded North Carolina State earned its third trip to the women’s Elite Eight with a 77-67 victory over second-seeded Stanford on Friday night.
Saniya Rivers added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Wolfpack (30-6), who fell behind by 10 points but rallied in the third quarter and led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter.
AP All-American Cameron Brink fouled out with 8:10 left in the game. She finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks in her final game for Stanford (30-6). Kiki Iriafen led the Cardinal with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Stanford, under Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer, was vying for its 23rd appearance in the Elite Eight. They had reached that milestone in five of the last seven years.
N.C. State went on a 13-2 third quarter run capped by a pair of 3-pointers from James to go up 49-45. The Wolfpack led 55-47 going into the fourth quarter.
James opened the final period with a 3-pointer that beat the shot clock.
The Wolfpack defeated Tennessee 79-72 in the second round in Raleigh. It helped erase the bad feeling from the season before, when the team fell to Princeton in the opening round.
The Cardinal needed overtime to get past seventh-seeded Iowa State 87-81 in a second-round game at home in Maples Pavilion. Iriafen finished with 41 points after Brink fouled out.
Brink, who is from the Portland area, has already announced that she’s declaring herself eligible for the WNBA draft, although she had one more season of eligibility.
Stanford was physical at the start. Brink had six rebounds and three blocks in the first quarter alone, but the Cardinal held a narrow 12-11 lead.
Hannah Jump led all scorers with 10 points in the first half for Stanford. Iriafen played just seven minutes because of foul trouble but had eight points and seven rebounds, and the Cardinal ended the first half on a 9-2 run to lead 37-27.
Brink picked up her third foul with 5:35 left in the third quarter and went to the bench. Soon thereafter N.C. State tied the game at 43 on Zoe Brooks’ layup before James made back-to-back 3-pointers.
Stanford is among five Pac-12 teams - most of any conference - that advanced to the Sweet 16 as the league’s days dwindle because of conference realignment. Earlier in the day, Oregon State earned a spot in the Elite Eight with a 70-65 victory over Notre Dame in the Albany Region.
Stanford and California both decided to join the ACC last summer, part of a collapse that left just two teams - Oregon State and Washington State - in a Pac-2. That will put the Cardinal in the same conference as N.C. State next season.
N.C. State’s men’s team, an 11th seed, beat second-seeded Marquette 67-58 on Friday night to also advance to the Elite Eight.
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