WBB: Cyclones dancing for ninth straight season

Ames — The Iowa State women’s basketball team is dancing in March for the ninth consecutive season. The 10-seeded Cyclones (18-12, 9-9 Big 12) will play the seven-seed Dayton Flyers (25-6, 14-2 A-10) in Lexington, Ky. in the first round of the NCAA tournament as part of the Albany Regional. 

The Cyclones enter the tournament after losing their last two games to Kansas, 68-64, in the regular season finale, and Oklahoma State, 67-58, in the Big 12 tournament. While the Flyers enter the tournament after losing 75-62 to George Washington in the Atlantic 10 conference tournament final. 

The only common opponent for the two teams is the Iowa Hawkeyes, who beat Iowa State 76-67 on Dec. 11, and Dayton 90-83 on Nov. 22. 

The winner of the game between Dayton and Iowa State will take on the winner of two-seed Kentucky and 15-seed Tennessee State. The region also includes the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, the UConn Huskies and Big 12 rival Texas is the fifth-seed in the region. 

Iowa State and Dayton will face on Friday at noon, the game will be televised on ESPN2. Check back with Cyclone Fanatic later in the week for full coverage of the Cyclones’ trip back to the NCAA tournament. 

Jared Stansbury

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Jared a native of Clarinda, Iowa, started as the Cyclone Fanatic intern in August 2013, primarily working as a videographer until starting on the women’s basketball beat prior to the 2014-15 season. Upon earning his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State in May 2016, Jared was hired as the site’s full-time staff writer, taking over as the primary day-to-day reporter on football and men’s basketball. He was elevated to the position of managing editor in January 2020. He is a regular contributor on 1460 KXNO in Des Moines and makes regular guest appearances on radio stations across the Midwest. Jared resides in Ankeny with his four-year-old puggle, Lolo.

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