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Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclones Set To Face Flyers In NCAA Tournament
03.17.2015 | Women's Basketball
LEXINGTON, Ky.- The Iowa State women's basketball team (18-12, 9-9 Big 12) is set to take on 7th-seeded Dayton (25-6, 14-2 A-10) on Friday, March 20 at 11 a.m. CT in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 2015 NCAA Tournament marks the ninth-straight year and the 16th in program history the Cyclones have made the Big Dance. Iowa State is 17-15 in the NCAA tournament all-time. All of Iowa State's NCAA tournament berths have come under the direction of head coach Bill Fennelly.
Who: 10-seed Iowa State vs. 7-seed Dayton
Where: Memorial Coliseum - Lexington, Ky.
When: Friday, March 20 at 11 a.m.
Projected Starting Lineup: Brynn Williamson, Kidd Blaskowsky, Seanna Johnson, Nikki Moody and Fallon Ellis
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield
Talent: Rich Fellingham (PxP), Molly Parrott (Color)
TV: ESPN2
Online: WatchESPN
Talent: Brenda VanLengen (PxP), Carol Ross (Color)
-Iowa State is set to take on 7th-seeded Dayton Flyers (25-6, 14-2 A-10) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 20 at 11 a.m. CT. Friday's game marks the first meeting between the Cyclones and Flyers. Iowa State's appearance in the Big Dance is its ninth-straight appearance and the Cyclones are one of just 10 teams to make the last nine NCAA Tournaments. The winner of ISU-Dayton will advance to take on the winner of 2-seed Kentucky vs. 15-seed Tennessee State.
- Iowa State holds a 17-15 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, making the field 16 times in program history, all of which have come under head coach Bill Fennelly.
- Senior point guard Nikki Moody is averaging 17.4 points and 7.3 assists over the last 15 games, scoring in double figures in all 15. Moody also ranks No. 1 in the country in assist rate (47.96).
- Iowa State had three student-athletes recognized by the Big 12 coaches, with Moody earning unanimous first-team All-Big 12 honors and Seanna Johnson and Brynn Williamson nabbing honorable mention honors.
- Iowa State is the only school among power five teams to have two players reach 700 career assists in the last 10 years.
- In conference play, Iowa State is 13th in the nation, and is second among power five schools, in assisted basket percentage with assists on 67.2 percent of its baskets.
- Iowa State ranks 12th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.27), while Moody, the top returning point guard in the Big 12, is eighth nationally in assists per game with 6.9 and second in the Big 12.
- Moody became the 26th player in Iowa State history to reach 1,000 career points. Against Texas Tech, Moody moved into 13th all-time passing Tracy Gahan (1,357). Moody sits at 1,399 points for her career, which puts her one point shy of 12th all-time, which is owned by Chelsea Poppens (1,400).
- Moody is second in the nation in career assists (740) and third nationally in career assists per game (5.98). Moody is now first in Iowa State history in assists with 740, breaking the Cyclone record which was held by Lyndsey Medders, against Baylor. Moody also led the Cyclones in assists with 163 last season, becoming the fifth Cyclone under Fennelly to lead ISU in assists in three-consecutive seasons. Moody is the first Cyclone under Fennelly to lead ISU in assists four-straight seasons as she has 206 assists this season.
- Moody's 740 career assists ranks sixth all-time in Big 12 history. She is 24 assists from Oklahoma's Stacy Dales' total of 764.
- Iowa State is first in the Big 12 and seventh in the nation in 3-pointers per game, averaging 8.7 per contest. Williamson leads the Big 12 and is 50th nationally with 2.5 made per game.
- Williamson ranks 13th in the nation in active career 3-point field goals made, with 257. Her 257 makes ranks fifth in ISU history. She also ranks 12th nationally in active career 3-pointers attempted with 755 total.
- Johnson ranks first in the Big 12 Conference with 9.3 rebounds per game. Johnson has recorded 15 double-figure rebounding games so far this season.
- The 2014-15 season marks the 20th in the tenure of Fennelly. Fennelly has led Iowa State to 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, which is the most of any Big 12 team since 1997. Fennelly boasts a 434-205 record at Iowa State and a 600-258 record in his 27-year career as a head coach. His 600 career wins lists him as 17th in the NCAA among active coaches.
Last Time Out
- Iowa State fell to Oklahoma State for a third-straight time this season with a 58-67 loss in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament. The Cyclones were led by senior Nikki Moody with 17 points, while both Seanna Johnson and Brynn Williamson eached notched double-doubles with 16 points and 12 rebounds for Johnson and 16 points and 11 rebounds for Williamson.
- Iowa State got down by as many as 23 in the second half against the Cowgirls before nearly finishing off its biggest comeback of the season after Moody netted a 3-pointer with 1:32 on the clock to close the OSU lead to three, 59-56. The Cyclones were unable to complete the comeback falling to OSU, 58-67.
Scouting Dayton
- The Dayton Flyers enter Friday's game with a 25-6 record and a 3-1 record on a neutral court, with its sole loss against George Washington in the A-10 tournament final.
- The Flyers have three student-athletes averaging double figures with Andrea Hoover (17.6), Ally Malott (15.3) and Amber Deane (10.3) leading the way for Dayton. Hoover is UD's top performer and is a three-time first-team All-Atlantic 10 selection.
- The Flyers rank 20th nationally in points per game, scoring 75.8 per contest. The Flyers also rank ninth in the country with a 3-point percentage of 37.6, while Dayton's Hoover ranks fifth in the country shooting 44.9 percent from beyond the arc.
- Defensively, Jodie Cornelie-Sigmundova leads UD with an average of 2.61 blocks per game, which ranks 22nd in the country.
- This is the first meeting between the two schools.
- Iowa State is making its 16th NCAA Championship appearance, with all 16 berths coming in the last 20 seasons under head coach Bill Fennelly. The Cyclones are 17-15 all-time NCAA Championship games. ISU has made five trips to the Sweet 16 and has posted two Elite Eight berths in school history (1999, 2009).
- Iowa State is one of just 11 teams to make the NCAA Championship field in each of the last nine seasons.
- Since 1997, no Big 12 team has made it to the NCAA Championships more than the Cyclones (16 times).
- Iowa State is the only school nationally to have its women's basketball, men's basketball and volleyball teams make the NCAA Tournament in each of the last four seasons.
- Twenty-one schools had teams make the NCAA men's and women's tournaments this season.
- ISU went to three consecutive NCAA Regional Semifinals in 1999, 2000 and 2001. The Cyclones went back to the Sweet 16 in 2009 for the first time since the 2001 season.
- The Cyclones hit 16 three-pointers in their 2009 NCAA first-round win over Eastern Tennessee State. That mark tied the NCAA Championship single-game record. South Dakota State also tied that mark on the same night, making it a three-way tie for the top spot. Iowa State hit 15 three-pointers against St. Francis in 2000, giving the Cyclones two of the top four single-game marks in NCAA Championship history.
- Iowa State played five teams a total of nine times in the NCAA field of 64 during the regular season. The Cyclones faced four teams that are seeded five or higher during the 2014-15 slate. ISU went 4-6 against teams in this season's NCAA field. Iowa State also faced five teams in the WNIT field, going 5-3 against those programs.
- Last season, Iowa State fell in the first round to Florida State. The Cyclones have only lost in the first round five times in 15 appearances.
- Eight teams from the Big 12 earned a spot in postseason play, with five making the NCAA field.
- In total, Iowa State played 18 of its 30 games against teams that advanced to the postseason (10 NCAA, 8 NIT).
- Nikki Moody has an average of 6.3 assists per game in the NCAA Tournament, while Brynn Williamson averages 3.0 3-pointer per game.
Players Mentioned
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