Days before Iowa State’s selection into the NCAA tournament, sophomore guard Nicole “Kidd” Blaskowsky found a note on her car windshield.

It was placed neatly on her car by a fan of the Iowa State women’s basketball team wishing Blaskowsky and the team good luck in the upcoming tournament at Hilton Coliseum. It was that simple act that showed her, again, what the NCAA women’s basketball tournament means to ISU fans and the city of Ames.

“We have people that are behind us and want to support us,” Blaskowsky said. “I think here it’s going to be awesome and our seniors get to go out with a bang and be able to play at home and it’s just going to be an awesome experience.”

No. 7 seed Iowa State (20-10) is set to take on No. 10 seed Florida State (20-11) at 3 p.m. Saturday in Hilton with the game to be televised on ESPN2. The Cyclones are 11-5 at home this season and are 254-45 in Hilton since the arrival of coach Bill Fennelly in 1995.

Iowa State is no stranger to having success within the confines of Hilton Coliseum in the NCAA tournament, either. This season will be Hilton’s eighth time hosting the tournament in its history, where the Cyclones are 10-3.

Having played at home and on the road in her career in the NCAA tournament, the difference between what the experience can give the players is pretty clear cut for junior guard Nikki Moody.

“It’s magical here,” Moody said of Hilton. “On the road you have family and people that come with you, but here it’s just a gym full of everybody that just loves you, so it will be nice.”

The Cyclones’ first NCAA tournament opponent, the Seminoles, have also had their own experiences with the NCAA tournament in Hilton. The two programs have only met once in their histories, a 2001 tournament matchup with No. 2-seeded Iowa State beating No. 7-seeded Florida State 85-70 to advance to the Sweet 16.

A member of four NCAA tournament teams at Iowa State — the Cyclones are one of 13 teams nationally to earn a bid to the tournament in eight straight years — senior forward Hallie Christofferson feels fortunate to get the chance to end her career in Hilton where everything is familiar.

“It’s really something special,” Christofferson said. “Just to say that; not everybody can say that and you never know if you were going to [make the tournament] going into the season. All of that hard work you put in just pays off.”

Last season’s NCAA tournament appearance by the Cyclones was one that was filled with extra tasks by the team like finding planes to travel on and hotels to put themselves up in, all things Iowa State will not have to concern itself with this year. The team will not even be staying in a hotel in Ames prior to the tournament, the goal of the coaches is to try to make everything as normal as they can.

Fennelly certainly wants his team to enjoy their time in the NCAA tournament, but he will ask his players one thing before they take their home floor on the national stage: Where else would you rather be Saturday afternoon than playing in the NCAA tournament?

“You’re playing in the NCAA tournament at Hilton Coliseum,” Fennelly said. “Life’s pretty good.”