The recent highly-anticipated match between the Stanford Cardinal and the Gonzaga Bulldogs left fans puzzled after Cameron Brink left the court in the first half of the match. Fans were poised for an epic battle, eagerly awaiting the clash of these titans on the hardwood, but the Cardinal’s standout player had different plans as she decided to exit. 

Without their key player, the Cardinals faced a huge upset as they lost to the Bulldogs with the finals score of 96-78, marking it as their first loss in the ongoing 2023-24 NCAA season. But this wasn’t the concern of the fans as they eagerly wanted to know what happened to Brink, which made her exit the game in the middle. 

Cameron Brink’s unexpected exit

The Stanford Cardinals eight back-to-back win streak comes crashing down as they lose their ninth match of the season against the Bulldogs. Basketball enthusiasts and analysts are stating that the main reason behind this loss is the early exit of their star player, Brink. 

Their star forward, Cameron Brink played only for 12 minutes in which she scored 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, but she had to quickly get out of the game due to illness, as stated by her college. However, the college or her coach has not officially released any news about the state of her illness or its severity. But this wasn’t just it, as another forward, Kiki Iriafen found herself in trouble because of fouls which led to her being benched from the game.

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Brink this season averaged 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks per game. Without her in the second half of the match, the Cardinal’s defense became void as they weren’t able to stop the Bulldogs from scoring. Not only their defense but their offense only found itself lost without their centerpiece. 

The Bulldogs took complete advantage of this situation and came out of the game as victors while recording their biggest win this season against a No.3 ranked team. But, a single loss doesn’t define the team’s performance in the ongoing season as the fans know they will jump back and bring glory to their team.

How’ve the Cardinals’ performed so far?

The Stanford Cardinals started the 2023-24 NCAA season with a bang, as they secured a one-sided victory against the Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine with a score difference of 47 points. Being one of the best teams in the league right now, they went on a winning streak of eight back-to-back wins with an average score difference of 31.5 points per game. The Cardinals went against some of the best teams like Duke Blue Devils, Indiana Hoosiers, and many more, and emerged victorious against every one of them. Cameron Brink was the player who stood out in every game as she dropped 19.6 points per game while securing 12.1 rebounds on average. 

Her incredible talent and unstoppable skills led the Cardinals to these back-to-back wins, but with her out of the game, they suffered a huge upset as they lost to an unranked team, which broke their streak. 

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But, they won’t let a single loss define their upcoming games as they will be learning from their mistakes to make a stellar comeback. For now, fans pray for the quick recovery of Brink so she can step back on the court to play beside her sisters.