And then there were 16.

Yes, the ISU women have done it again, marching their way through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and into the Sweet 16 for the second straight year and fifth time ever, all since Bill Fennelly took over as coach of the struggling program in 1995.

When the season began, expectations were low. The Big 12s coaches predicted the Cyclones to finish seventh in the conference — they finished the regular season tied for second. The “Twister Sisters,” as they’re affectionately known, even compiled a record of 25–7, better than last year’s mark even though the 2008–’09 team played its way into the Elite Eight.

Those low expectations were probably deserved — Fennelly had to replace eight players who left, including the bulk of the offensive production and was doing so with four freshmen and a junior college transfer.  No one knew what kind of production the Cyclones would be getting from those newcomers.

Six-foot-7-inch freshman center Anna Prins stormed onto the scene and into the starting lineup and became an instant hit. Prins averaged nearly 10 points and just more than four rebounds per game on her way to being named to the Big 12 All-Freshmen team.

Chelsea Poppens also made a name for herself, starting in 29 of the Cyclones’ 32 games this year and becoming the team’s leading rebounder with 7.2 boards per game on her way to becoming a fan favorite.

That’s not even talking about the surprising play of newcomers Amanda Zimmerman and Jessica Schroll, who have given Fennelly depth and production from his young bench that no one thought the team would have coming into the season.

Then, there’s the experience of the team. The ones who have been here before.

Junior Kelsey Bolte and seniors Alison Lacey and Denae Stuckey carried the team through the rough stretches of the season, and guided an 11-game winning streak in the middle of the long season. Led by a First Team All-Big 12 performance from Lacey and consistently strong play from Bolte — who earned Big 12 Honorable Mention honors — built the Cyclones’ rank as high as No. 13 and a No. 4 seeding in the Dayton Region of the NCAA Tournament.

But, now, the Cyclones must face the Connecticut Huskies — the undefeated and virtually unmatched UConn Huskies.

Defending champion UConn, led by Big East Player of the Year Tina Charles, has not only won 74-straight games coming into the regional semifinal matchup, but none of the 74 have been played within a 10-point margin.

The Huskies have also qualified for their 17th consecutive berth in the Sweet 16 under coach Geno Auriemma, who in his 24 seasons at UConn has won six national championships.

Yeah, that can be a little intimidating.

But, we don’t think there’s any reason the ISU women can’t take care of business Sunday in Dayton, Ohio.

That’s right, anything can happen at this wonderful time of year. This March has been especially “mad” — remember when UNI beat Kansas? — and all good things, such as 74-game winning streaks, must come to an end.

And, while no one has given the Huskies a good fight in the last two seasons, they haven’t seen anything like a cyclone.

At least not yet.