Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus UCF on January 31, 2026 , Win , 65, to, 52
Final
Women's Basketball
65
UCF
52
Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclones Face Georgia Tech in NCAA First Round
03.19.2008 | Women's Basketball
Iowa State (20-12, 7-9 Big 12) vs. Georgia Tech (22-9, 7-7 ACC)
Saturday, March 22, 2008 ? 11 a.m.
Des Moines, Iowa ? Wells Fargo Arena (14,707)
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield
Talent: Rich Fellingham (pxp); Brent Blum (color)
Television: ESPN2
Talent: Beth Mowins (pxp); Fran Fraschilla (color); Ron Johnson (sideline)
Cyclone Notebook
- Iowa State will face Georgia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Championship at 11 a.m. Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. The Cyclones are hosting seven other teams in first- and second-round games in Des Moines, but had to earn an invitation themselves the hard way, claiming an at-large berth and a No. 7 seed. Iowa State is making its second consecutive NCAA appearance and its ninth trip in the last 12 seasons.
- The game will be televised live on ESPN2. Beth Mowins will call the action, while Fran Fraschilla provides color analysis. Ron Johnson will report from the sidelines.
- The winner of the Iowa State-Georgia Tech game will advance to face the winner of the first-round match up between Rutgers and Robert Morris. The winner of the second-round game will move on to the Greensboro Regional. In the other Des Moines bracket, Ohio State will face Florida State and Oklahoma State will take on East Tennessee State, with that winner moving on to the New Orleans Regional.
- Iowa State is 20-12 this season and finished 7-9 in the Big 12 for a seventh-place tie with Texas in the final league standings. The Cyclones made it to the Big 12 Championship semifinals by defeating Colorado, 76-50, and 15th-ranked and regular-season Big 12 champ Kansas State, 66-65, in an overtime thriller. Iowa State fell 65-53 to 11th-ranked Texas A&M in the Big 12 semifinal round.
- Iowa State front court starters Toccara Ross and Nicky Wieben will miss the remainder of the 2007-08 season due to torn ACLs. Ross tore the ACL in her right knee against Minnesota and Wieben tore the ACL in her left knee at Texas. Ross is eligible for a redshirt, while Wieben is not.
- Iowa State will return its entire roster next season. Ross is ISU's only senior and should be eligible for another year of competition after her season-ending injury.
- With a 76-50 win over Montana State, the Cyclones collected their 500th win in program history. They are now 516-484 overall. ISU's Big 12 Championship game against Texas A&M was its 1,000th in program history.
- Georgia Tech earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament after posting a 22-9 overall record and finished in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
- Iowa State and Georgia Tech will meet for the first time in women's basketball. The Cyclones are 3-8 all-time against ACC teams. ISU most recently met an ACC team last season in the Pepperdine Tournament when the Cyclones defeated Virginia Tech, 75-69.
- Iowa State returned 10 letterwinners from its 2006-07 NCAA Tournament team. Last year's squad went 26-9 overall and 10-6 to finish tied for fourth in the Big 12 Conference. Iowa State lost four players from last season, including a pair of four-year starters in Lyndsey Medders and Megan Ronhovde.
- Head coach Bill Fennelly is 279-131 at Iowa State and in his 13th season with the Cyclones. He is 445-184 in his head coaching career, which began at Toledo in 1988.
A Closer Look At Georgia Tech
- Georgia Tech was selected with an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Yellow Jackets went 22-9 this season and finished in a three-way tie for fifth place in the final Atlantic Coast Conference standings with a 7-7 league mark.
- Georgia Tech went 15-2 in the non-conference slate, including a 76-57 win at Iowa on Nov. 28. The Yellow Jackets have lost two of their last three games, both to Virginia, including a 52-43 loss in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
- Senior Janie Mitchell was named to the ACC third team, averaging 16.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Fellow senior Chioma Nnamaka was an honorable mention pick for ACC postseason honors. She is Tech's second-leading scorer with 15.3 points per game.
- Georgia Tech leads the nation in steals with 14.3 thefts per game. Junior Jacqua Williams sets the pace for the Yellow Jackets, averaging 3.8 steals per contest, to rank fourth nationally, while Jillian Ingram is 19th in the same category with 3.1 per game.
- GT is averaging 70.8 points per game, while holding opponents to 60.1. The Jackets are shooting 41.6 percent from the field. Chioma Nnamaka is Tech's leading three-point shooter, draining 3.1 per contest to rank third in the nation. As a team, the Yellow Jackets are shooting 32.2 percent from long range.
- Georgia Tech head coach MaChelle Joseph is in her fifth season with the Yellow Jackets and holds an 84-65 career record.
Iowa State NCAA Championship Facts
- Iowa State is making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance, with all nine berths coming in the last 12 seasons under head coach Bill Fennelly's watch. The Cyclones are 10-8 in NCAA Tournament games.
- Iowa State has earned a seventh seed or better for the eighth time in school history. The only time the Cyclones have been lower than a seven seed was in their first NCAA Tournament berth in 1997, when they received a 12 seed. ISU has been a seven seed just once before, in 2005, when the Cyclones fell in the first round to Utah.
- Just twice in the their eight previous NCAA trips have the Cyclones gone out in the first round. ISU is 6-2 in first-round games.
- Last season the Cyclones were selected to the tournament field as a No. 6 seed, defeating 11th-seeded Washington, 79-60, in the first round, before falling to third-seeded Georgia, 76-56, in the second round.
- Iowa State's best run in the NCAA Tournament came in 1999, when the Cyclones made it to the Elite Eight, before falling to Georgia. In that tournament, ISU was a fourth seed. The Cyclones won their first- and second-round games in Ames, and played the regional contests in Cincinnati, Ohio.
- Iowa State is playing host to the NCAA women's basketball first- and second-round games for the seventh time since 1998, in addition to serving as host to the 2002 Midwest Regional.
- A Big 12-record 11 teams will compete in 2008 postseason play. Eight teams received bids to the NCAA Championship while three will participate in the WNIT. The league's eight NCAA berths are also a Big 12 record.
Quick Hits
- Iowa State finished tied with Texas for seventh place in the final Big 12 standings with a 7-9 league record. The Cyclones made it to the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship for the seventh time in 12 tries. Iowa State defeated Colorado, 76-50, in the Big 12 first round, and knocked of Big 12 regular-season champion Kansas State, 66-65, in an overtime thriller. ISU fell in the semifinals to eventual champion Texas A&M, 65-53.
- Four players on Iowa State's roster and three active players have averaged double figures this season. Sophomore point guard Alison Lacey is averaging 14.5 points per game, while junior Heather Ezell is posting 10.4 and freshman Kelsey Bolte has racked up 10.1 this season. Junior Nicky Wieben was averaging 12.7 points a contest before being sidelined with a season-ending ACL injury.
- The Cyclones have swept the state of Iowa for the last three seasons, winning all three games against instate Division I opponents. ISU knocked of Iowa, 58-44, Drake, 58-51, and Northern Iowa, 69-41, for its third straight mythical state title this season.
- Freshman Kelsey Bolte scored 20 or more points in each of her first four Big 12 games, becoming the first freshman in league history to do so, and contributed double figures in 10 league games. She averaged 12.8 ppg in conference play.
- The Cyclones hit 12 treys in their Big 12 quarterfinal win over Kansas State and are now averaging 7.8 threes per game for the season. A Cyclone player has hit five or more treys in nine different contests this season. Alison Lacey has hit three or more treys in 14 of the last 25 games, and has hit five or more on five occasions. Heather Ezell has hit five or more on four occassions.
- Junior Nicky Wieben was in double digits in 11 games this season, before being sidelined for the season with a knee injury. Wieben led the Cyclones in scoring in six contests.
- Nicky Wieben and Jocelyn Anderson have combined for 104 of ISU's 147 blocked shots this season. Wieben averaged 2.2 blocks per game after swatting seven in the first half against Hampton. She holds the ISU class record for freshmen and sophomores and finished the season fourth on the junior list with 35. Anderson blocked seven shots against Baylor and holds the Iowa State single-season record as well as the junior class record with 69 blocked shots this season. She ranks ninth on the all-time ISU career list and is averaging 2.2 per contest.
- Amanda Nisleit is averaging 6.1 ppg after entering the season averaging 1.6 for her career. She is averaging 4.7 rebounds per contest after coming in posting 1.2 rpg.
- Junior forward Gillian Bjerke has transferred to Concordia University, St. Paul, a Division II school. Bjerke did not play for the Cyclones this season, but had played in 26 games in her career prior to this season.
On Fire
Iowa State junior guard Heather Ezell was named to the 2008 Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team, announced after the title game. She was the only player named to the team not to play in the championship game. The Springfield, Mo., native averaged 19.7 points, four rebounds and 2.7 assists per game over three games. She hit 17 three-pointers in the tournament, breaking the Big 12 Championship record. Ezell tied the Big 12 Championship single-game record for three-pointers with seven in the Cyclones' first-round win over Colorado. She then broke that record by hitting eight treys in Iowa State's quarterfinal win over Kansas State. Ezell shot 48.8 percent from the field and 51.5 percent (17-33) from three-point range for the tournament.
Conference Honors
Iowa State sophomore Alison Lacey and freshman Kelsey Bolte earned Big 12 postseason honors. Lacey was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team, while Bolte was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team. Lacey ranked 12th in scoring in the Big 12 this season with 14.5 points per game. She led the conference in three-point shooting, hitting 41 percent from long range. She also ranked second in three-pointers per game (2.6) and was sixth in assists (3.9). Bolte was named to the All-Rookie Team after being named Big 12 Rookie of the Week on three occasions, including the first two weeks of the Big 12 season. The Ida Grove, Iowa, native scored 20+ points in each of her first four conference games, a feat no other freshman has accomplished in Big 12 history.
A Touch of Class
Amanda Nisleit and Alison Lacey were named to the 2008 Academic All-Big 12 Teams. Nisleit was named to the academic first team, boasting a 3.82 grade-point average in elementary education. The Woodbury, Minn., has won the award for two consecutive seasons. Lacey earned a spot on the second team after posting a 3.13 GPA in her last two semesters combined in communication studies.
Last Time Out
The resilience and determination of the 2007-08 Cyclone team was at its best last week in the Big 12 Championship, as Iowa State made it to the semifinal game for the seventh time in 12 tries. ISU knocked off Colorado for the third time this season in the first round of the tournament, 76-50, behind seven three-pointers by Heather Ezell. The Cyclones then turned around and defeated 15th-ranked and Big 12 regular-season champion Kansas State, 66-65, in an overtime thriller. ISU fell to Texas A&M, 65-53, in the semifinal round, but still displayed its never-quit attitude, consistently fighting its way back into the contest, before finally falling to the eventual Big 12 Champion Aggies.
Double Trouble
Five players have accounted for Iowa State's eight double-double performances this season. Toccara Ross earned the Cyclones' first double-double of the season against Iowa with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kelsey Bolte got the second double-double of the season against Creighton with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Nicky Wieben added the third of the year at Colorado with 14 points and 11 boards. Alison Lacey claimed the fourth double-double of the season and came very close to a triple-double vs. Missouri with 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Most recently, Jocelyn Anderson has earned the first three double-doubles of her career against Baylor, Missouri and Kansas State (in the Big 12 Championship). Lacey earned the first point-assist double-double of her career with 13 points and 10 assists vs. Colorado in the Big 12 Championship.
Anderson's Turnaround
Junior Jocelyn Anderson hit 15 consecutive free throws before missing one with just under seven minutes to go in the second half against Baylor. The streak began in the Kansas State game and spanned four contests. Before the Kansas State home game, Anderson was shooting 48.4 percent from the charity stripe. Anderson knocked down a key pair of free throws at the end of the game to clinch the win at Mizzou and is now shooting 54.8 percent from the stripe.
In the Books
Jocelyn Anderson rewrote the Iowa State single-season blocked shots record in the home game against Kansas. Anderson has 69 blocks this season, knocking off Nicky Wieben's record, which she set last season with 62. Anderson also ranks ninth on the Iowa State all-time career chart. She blocked a career-high seven shots, one shy of the ISU single-game record, against Baylor.
Record Set
Junior Nicky Wieben broke Angie Welle's Iowa State career record for blocked shots against Texas, before suffering her season-ending knee injury. Wieben reset the record at 156 blocked shots in her first three seasons at ISU. Welle set the previous record from 1998 to 2002 with 155. Wieben is also now seventh on the Big 12 career list.
Build It and They Will Come
In the national attendance rankings which were last put out on Monday, March 12, by the University of Wisconsin, ISU ranked fifth nationally in fans per game with 9,388. Iowa State had 11,824 fans at the Kansas game, which ranks 20th on the Iowa State all-time attendance list.
Weekly Big 12 Honors
Iowa State earned five Big 12 weekly honors this season, with accolades most recently going to freshman Kelsey Bolte. She was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week on Feb. 18, the third time she won the honor. Bolte was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week during the first two weeks of conference play, after four straight games with 20+ points.
Alison Lacey was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Feb. 11 after she averaged 23 points, six rebounds, and five assists in Iowa State's wins over Texas Tech and Missouri.
Junior Heather Ezell was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday, Nov. 19, after she tied the Big 12 and Iowa State records for three-pointers in a single game, knocking down 10 in a 99-45 win over Sacramento State.
Luck is Changing
In their first four games decided by five or less points, the Cyclones came up on the short end. Iowa State had lost four games in conference play by three points, but three of its last five wins have come by margins of five (Oklahoma State), four (Missouri) and one point (Kansas State at the Big 12 Championship). ISU also fell to Baylor by four points.
Two of a Kind
Alison Lacey and Heather Ezell have combined for 157 of Iowa State's 249 three-pointers this season. As of Monday, March 17, Lacey was 22nd in the nation in three-point percentage and 20th in three-pointers per game. Ezell is 98th in three-point percentage and 62nd in treys per game.
Ezell hit 10 three-pointers against Sacramento State. Lacey hit nine treys in the next contest against Michigan and drained seven at Colorado. In the Big 12 Championship, Ezell tied the tournament record with seven treys against Colorado and then broke it against Kansas State with eight. She finished the tournament with 17 threes to her credit.
The pair knocked down nine combined three-pointers at Minnesota, 10 combined against Bowling Green and 10 combined at Colorado. The two combined for 13 vs. Colorado in the Big 12 Championship and all 12 of ISU's three-point makes vs. Kansas State in the Big 12 quarterfinals.
Lacey has hit a three-pointer in all but one game this season. Ezell has had at least one in 25 of the Cyclones' 32 games. Lacey has hit three or more in 15 games this season, including 14 of the last 24. Ezell has hit three or more 10 times.
Taking Care of the Ball
Sophomore point guard Alison Lacey is in her first season as Iowa State's starting point guard, but has aged quickly, ranking 45th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio. She has been a key cog in making the ISU offense run this season, passing out 4.3 assists per game, while committing just 2.4 turnovers per contest. In Big 12 contests, Lacey had 57 assists and 39 turnovers.
70 Is the Magic Number
ISU is 66-5 (.930) in the last five seasons when scoring 70+ points in a game. The Cyclones had its 24-game win streak when reaching the 70-point mark snapped this season at home against Nebraska. The streak dated back to a 79-71 OT win over Wisconsin-Green Bay on March 16, 2006.
Getting Defensive
Iowa State has held opponents to 55.6 points per game and Nebraska and Kansas State are the only two teams to break the 70-point mark in regulation against ISU this season. An ISU opponent has only hit the 60-point mark nine times this season. The Cyclones are third in the nation in fewest fouls per game with 12.9 per game. ISU's opponents have shot 38.6 percent from the floor and 32.3 percent from three-point range. ISU has forced opponents into 13.7 turnovers per game.
Nationally Speaking
ISU ranks in the top 35 in six NCAA statistical categories, released March 17, including ranking third in the nation in fewest personal fouls per game (12.9). The Cyclones are fifth in three-pointers per game (7.8), 15th in turnovers per game (13.7) and 19th in scoring defense. ISU is 27th in three-point percentage (.364) and 34th in blocked shots per game (4.6). On an individual level, Alison Lacey is 22nd in three-point percentage, 20th in threes per game, 45th in assist-to-turnover ratio and 84th in assists. Heather Ezell is 62nd in treys per game and 98th in three-point percentage. Jocelyn Anderson is 34th in blocked shots.
Big 12 Rankings
As a team, Iowa State ranks in the top six of the conference in seven of 19 statistical categories (as of March 17). The Cyclones lead the conference in three-pointers per game (7.8), three-point percentage (.364) and rebounding defense. Iowa State is second in assist-to-turnover ratio and scoring defense (55.6). The Cyclones are sixth in free throw percentage (.685) and blocked shots (4.6). Individually, Alison Lacey leads the league in three-point percentage (.414) and is second in three-pointers made with 2.6 per contest. Heather Ezell is fifth in three-pointers made with 2.3 pg and Kelsey Bolte is 15th (1.3). Lacey and Ezell also rank third and sixth, respectively, in assist-to-turnover ratio. Lacey is 12th in scoring (14.5 ppg) and fifth in assists (3.9), while Ezell is 13th in assists (3.1). Jocelyn Anderson is sixth in blocked shots per game (2.2).
Coming On Board
Iowa State will add the services of three outstanding newcomers in 2008-09, head coach Bill Fennelly announced when Ashley Arlen (Cascade, Iowa), Whitney Williams (Ft. Worth, Texas) and Alexis Yackley (Onida, S.D.) each signed national letters of intent.
Arlen is a 6-1 forward, who averaged 19.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and two blocks per game, while shooting 56 percent from the field for the Cascade Bruins last season.
Williams, a 5-7 guard, plays for the Texas Home Educators Sports Association (THESA) of Fort Worth, which finished 38-12 last year under head coach Alan Burt. She hit 206 three-pointers at a 48.7 percent clip and averaged 24.3 points as a junior.
Yackley, also a 5-7 guard, has been the starting point guard for Sully Buttes High School since the eighth grade, and led the Chargers to the South Dakota State B Basketball state title last season. She was named first-team all-state as a sophomore and junior.
Fennelly's the Dean of the Big 12
With Jody Conradt stepping down as head coach at the University of Texas at the conclusion of last season, Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly became the new dean of Big 12 coaches. Fennelly wrapped up his 12th season at Iowa State, followed closely by Deb Patterson (Kansas State) and Sherri Coale (Oklahoma), who each finished their 11th campaign at a Big 12 institution. Fennelly is second in Big 12 regular-season wins by current league coaches with 117, behind Coale (121).
Trey Bien
Iowa State has made at least one three-pointer in 413 consecutive games dating back to 1995. That streak now ranks second in the nation. Canisius College unofficially holds the longest current streak at 419 consecutive games, while Iowa State is second.
Coaching Consistency
Iowa State has returned the same coaching staff for the last five seasons. Associate head coach Jack Easley is the newest to the staff and is in his fifth campaign with the Cyclones. Latoja Schaben is not new to the staff, but she was married during the offseason, going from Latoja Harris to Latoja Schaben. She played for Coach Fennelly at Toledo, while fellow assistant Jodi Steyer coached for Fennelly at Toledo from 1989 to 1996 and has been at Iowa State for the past five seasons.
Home Sweet Hilton Magic
The Cyclones have been phenomenal at home during head coach Bill Fennelly's tenure, compiling a 167-31 record (.843) in Hilton Coliseum, including a 78-3 (.963) mark against regular-season non-conference opponents. Iowa State was a last-second shot away from going undefeated at home in 2006-07, finishing with a 15-1 record at Hilton. ISU finished the 2006-07 season ranked seventh in attendance, marking the ninth consecutive season the Cyclones have ranked 11th or higher in the nation.
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/ Women's BasketballSaturday, March 21
Friday, March 20
Friday, March 20
Sunday, March 15
