For the first time since 2001, the ISU women’s basketball team will play in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

And how sweet it is.

“It makes this job truly special, it really does,” said coach Bill Fennelly after Tuesday’s win over No. 12 seed Ball State in Bowling Green, Ky. “It is moments like this when you get to see them that excited and our university so excited that it means a lot. It is what makes this job worth all the time and effort.”

The Cyclones will play against No. 9 seed Michigan State at 8 p.m. CST on Saturday in Berkeley, Calif. Michigan State upset No. 1 seed Duke in Tuesday’s second round match-up in East Lansing.

Ball State was the Cinderella story of the tourney’s first round, knocking off No. 5 seed and two-time defending national champion Tennessee in the first round. The Cyclones were determined not to let the feel-good story continue, but instead try to create their own.

Iowa State pulled away from the Cardinals after holding only a two-point lead at 41-39 with just over 10 minutes to play.

“When we were in the huddle with about four minutes left, coach Fennelly said that we’ve been up seven five or six times and we’re either going to the Sweet 16 or not,” guard Kelsey Bolte said. “I think we all put our foot down then and played with a lot of aggression and passion and heart.”

Now comes a trip to the tournament’s second weekend.

“It’s a great accomplishment because we’re one of the 16 teams remaining playing,” ISU athletics director Jamie Pollard said on Wednesday. “It reflects the hard work and success of our group of student athletes that are led by our five seniors, who’ve had a last opportunity to play in a college uniform, and it’s wonderful for our fans.”

Those five seniors — Heather Ezell, Nicky Wieben, Amanda Nisleit, Toccara Ross and Jocelyn Anderson — have won more than 90 games in four years, but hadn’t advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“It is so awesome,” Nisleit said. “You dream about this as a little girl.”

The dream will continue, though an unfortunate draw will force Cyclone fans to travel around the nation. The team has gone from Oklahoma City to Bowling Green, Ky., and now to Berkeley, Calif. in a matter of three consecutive weekends. Iowa State averaged over 10,000 fans a game in non-break games this season, and Pollard said he wished the team could play closer to home.

“California, here we come,” for Cyclone fans?

“Hope so,” Pollard said. “It’s a long ways, so hopefully some alums in that area will come to the game, but I’m sure we’ll still have our diehards that came with us to Bowling Green that will find a way to get out there.”

The silver lining to the hectic travel might be that the team will be the higher seed for the third straight game, after Duke was upset. A win would match the Cyclones against either No. 3 seed Ohio State or No. 2 seed Stanford. Iowa State has never gone to the Final Four, and has only advanced to the Elite 8 once — 10 years ago in the 1999 tournament.

“It’s been a fun last week because the wrestlers were third in the country and now the women’s basketball team is top 16 in the country.” Pollard said. “You don’t have that kind of success every day, so we want to relish it and enjoy.”