Two years ago, Monica Huelman could hardly have imagined this.

As the elder statesman on the club, the junior from Vinton remembers when things weren’t so rosy at Hilton Coliseum.

“My freshman year, we had a game against Missouri, and they had caution ribbons up so you could only sit in four sections, and I’m not lying, they had to put everyone on one side, and film the game from the other,” Huelman said.

Now, as the Cyclones prepare to face Santa Clara in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Huelman can look back on those days and laugh.

The 6’3 forward is averaging 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds. The numbers, however, don’t reflect what Huelman brings to the program.

In her three year career, she has played in all 91 of her team’s games, starting 54 of those. Huelman has currently blocked the 4th most shots in Cyclone history with an even 80.

Coming from Vinton-Shellsburg, she was the star player on the team that won the Class 3A state championship her senior year.

She averaged 24.2 points and 3.8 blocks her senior year, so the change in roles from a big-time scorer to role player could have been a difficult one.

Huelman, however, doesn’t mind at all.

“It was a big adjustment at first, but I’ve learned to accept it. There’s times when I am open, and everybody yells ‘Shoot it, Mo,’ but I really don’t even look for the shot that much. I like to be a screener for everyone else. I’m very happy with this role,” Huelman said.

Huelman faced another challenge this year. As the veteran, it was up to her to tell the seven newcomers what to expect.

“It’s like a system. Just like when you go to school and you have to learn how the professors do everything. Well, they needed to learn how Coach Fennelly and the rest of the coaches run everything. And I was the only one that had been here two years, and knew what he was doing.

“So I just needed to make sure that I did everything right and hard, so they would follow my lead,” Huelman said.

With Vinton being only two hours away, she always has plenty of friendly faces in the crowd.

“My parents come for every home game, and my aunt is a professor here, and my uncle is a car dealer in Nevada. And my high school coach likes to come and watch, so it’s really nice,” Huelman said.

She has played a big part in making this year’s team the closest of any she’s been a part of.

“We’ve always been really close. Last year we were a close team. This year it seems like we’ve gotten even closer. Our personalities fit together really well. He [Fennelly] does a good job in looking for girls that will fit in with us when he’s recruiting,” Huelman said.

The Cyclone women’s basketball program has come a long way in the past three years, and a good deal of credit should go to its rock in the middle, junior captain Monica Huelman.