Iowa State thankful to be back in NCAA women’s basketball tournament after 2020 cancellation

AMES - Everywhere Iowa State women's basketball coach Bill Fennelly looks, he sees the NCAA logo.

It's on his mask, it's on the walls, it's on the banners - everywhere.

He doesn't need the reminder that his No. 7-seed Iowa State (16-10) team is getting ready to play No. 10-seed Michigan State (15-8) in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Monday at 5 p.m. (ESPN), but it's there just in case.

'This is the best thing there is,” Fennelly said. 'Everywhere you go, there's an NCAA logo - when you get off the elevator, there's a logo. This is why you play.”

The players and the coaches have a deeper sense of appreciation for the tournament this time around, since last season's got canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

'It's what we didn't get to play in last year and it's what we get to play in now,” Fennelly said. 'It gives you hope that we're starting to turn the corner - not just in a basketball sense, but as a country. It gives people something to look forward to.

'Everyone is always excited about March anyway, but this year more so than ever - we all need this. We all need that sense of, ‘My life is normal in March.' I think it's great and it's fun to be a part of it. It's something our players will remember forever.”

The Cyclones have a young team, and even some of the more experienced players have only played in a couple of NCAA tournament games.

Lexi Donarski, Emily Ryan, Kylie Feuerbach and Aubrey Joens are all freshmen, so every experience is a new one for them. And key role player Morgan Kane was redshirting the last time the NCAA tournament happened, two years ago.

Ashley Joens, Kristin Scott, Maddie Wise and Rae Johnson played in just two NCAA tournament games and that was on the team led by former star Bridget Carleton.

Now they'll have to do the leading.

The players not named Scott might have to step up even more because the senior is dealing with an injury.

Scott didn't play in overtime in ISU's last game against Texas in the Big 12 tournament and Fennelly expects her to be limited. He said the goal is 20 minutes for Scott.

But if how they've led this season is anything to go by, Fennelly isn't worried about how they'll handle Monday.

'In the hardest of years to manage a team, this has been one of the easiest teams we've ever had to manage,” Fennelly said. 'That seems counterintuitive because we have so many young players but they've been great and they're looking forward to playing on Monday.”

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