The Iowa State women’s basketball team is heading to Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City looking to make history.

Or, to be more accurate, they are simply looking to repeat history at the NCAA regional finals Saturday against Penn State.

A few short weeks ago, the Cyclones ventured into the old arena for the Big 12 tournament. They left with not only the trophy but a sense of satisfaction in proving they were the conference’s best team.

With a win over Penn State, Iowa State can advance to the Elite Eight for the second time in as many years.

However, the task ahead of them is certainly a daunting one.

“Penn State is a great team. They are a team that has been talking about making the Final Four all year, so you know they’re serious about winning. They will be the best team we’ve faced all year,” Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said.

However, the Cyclones enter the contest playing well, having won nine consecutive games by an average of 26 points.

“I think we’re playing really well right now. I think the main thing now is that we all understand our roles and what we need to do both offensively and defensively in order to win,” Cyclone guard Stacy Frese said.

Frese closed out her home career with a hard fought, intense 79-68 win over Illinois, a team Penn State defeated both times the teams played.

Although the game was closely contested throughout, Iowa State pulled away in the last minute for the win, allowing Frese some time for reflection.

“I did a little bit. I guess the biggest thing was the crowd. To go from where I was my first year here when I redshirted and there was hardly anybody here to look up and see almost every seat filled was amazing. It says a lot about our fans,” Frese said.

Speaking of fans, the Cyclones had the full red carpet treatment for the Big 12 tournament, as ISU fans nearly filled Municipal to capacity for the title game.

Frese hopes for more of the same.

“I hope a lot of people can come down. But the main advantage for us playing down there is we’ve been there before, we know what the gym is like, and things like that,” Frese said.

Fennelly isn’t sure how many people will be able to make the three-hour drive south for the game Saturday.

“I don’t think it will be as many people as we had for the Big 12’s. For one thing, I don’t know how much money our fans have left after traveling all around, and a lot of people might decide just to stay home and watch both our game and the men’s game on TV,” Fennelly said.

Iowa State is one of only five teams in the nation to boast two Sweet Sixteen teams.

Both Fennelly and Frese agree that makes it all the more special.

“It’s great for us. We really support each other, I know seeing the men’s team here Sunday night was great. Everybody is saying it’s a great time for ISU basketball, and it is,” Frese said.

Fennelly said, “There’s no question that makes it more special for us. I mean, we waited to see when the men were playing before we did our planning for the trip. It turns out great, we can leave after practice here and catch the game at the hotel.”

The other two teams left in the bracket are Louisiana Tech, the No. 1 seed and Old Dominion, the No.4 seed.

The Lady Techsters were nearly upset by Vanderbilt, winning the game 66-65 after a controversial foul call gave them two shots at the line with only 2.1 seconds left.

“It doesn’t really surprise me a whole lot. They were facing the same kind of pressures we were. Everyone expected them to win, they were at home, and the bottom line is they won,” Fennelly said.

Last year at this time, Fennelly told ISU athletic director Gene Smith that the Cyclones would not be able to beat Georgia if those two teams should meet.

They did indeed, and Fennelly’s prediction proved right as Iowa State fell in the regional final.

However, he feels that this year the team is poised to make a serious run.

“I think we’re a better team than we were last year,” Fennelly said. “I really believe that our experience and our system allows us to compete with anybody in this tournament.”