Iowa State women heading to NCAA tourney as a 10-seed

AMES - Bill Fennelly stood in the corner of Johnny's at Hilton Coliseum out of sight from the crowd, waiting to see Iowa State's name appear in the NCAA tournament bracket.

Merely 10 seconds after it was announced Iowa State would head to Lexington, Ky. as a 10-seed, Fennelly's phone flashed with a new text message. It was from Fred Hoiberg.

'It said, ‘Let's go take over Kentucky,'” Fennelly grinned. 'It'll be fun.”

As the No. 10 seed in the Albany region, Iowa State will face No. 7 seed Dayton in Lexington, Ky. at 11 a.m. Friday (ESPN2). The Iowa State men's team will play in Louisville against UAB at 11:40 a.m. Thursday.

The Cyclones (18-12, 9-9) made the field of 64 teams for the ninth-consecutive year, joining just nine other teams to accomplish the feat.

For the three ISU seniors, making the NCAA tournament in each of their four years isn't something they brush off.

'Going all four years is something that the three of us had in the back of our minds coming into it,” senior guard Brynn Williamson said. 'Every year we've had that player that kind of stepped up and we knew we could play behind them. I think at different points of the season, each of us have kind of stepped up and I think that's what kind of held this team together.”

Iowa State was the first region announced on television and as soon as the Cyclones' name popped up, Williamson leaned over to fellow senior Nikki Moody and said it was a good feeling to not have to sweat it out for a bid.

Across the board, players weren't worried about making the field, but rather who they would be playing and where. They Cyclones drew the 7-10 matchup for the second-straight year, losing as a 7-seed to 10-seed Florida State last year at Hilton Coliseum.

'It gives you more motivation,” Moody said of Iowa State's 'underdog” role in the tournament. 'Last year we were the No. 7 seed with the No. 10 and the No. 10 beat us. Now it's the opposite and I feel like we can be the No. 10 to beat a No. 7.”

The Flyers (25-6, 14-2) are winners of 8 of their last 9 games, with the lone loss coming against George Washington in the Atlantic 10 tournament championship. Fennelly, who said he's good friends with Flyers' Coach Jim Jabir, is familiar with Dayton's style of play, and expects Iowa State's defense to be well tested in the first round.

'They're going to score the ball a lot,” Fennelly said. 'Historically, his teams have great size. As soon as we're done (watching the selection show) we'll head to the office and start getting stuff together.”