The 50 people gathered in the small room didn’t have to wait long. When the words, “Hilton Coliseum; Ames, Iowa” flashed onto the television screen, the place erupted.

“We got a game,” someone rejoiced over the din of screaming, laughing Cyclones. The dream had come true — the Iowa State women’s basketball team would be at home for the Mideast Region’s first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games.

The Cyclones and their coaches, parents and friends assembled Sunday night in the team room at Hilton to watch the selection show on ESPN. Also joining in the fun were four members of the all-male scout team. It was the second year in a row the team had waited in suspense, but this time, it was different.

“Last year, I sat here thinking we were on the bubble to get in the tournament, and now we were on the bubble to get a home game,” said Coach Bill Fennelly after the hubbub subsided.

Being rewarded with a fourth seed and a game at Hilton wasn’t totally unexpected, Fennelly said.

“I looked at it last night, and I thought we had a chance,” he said, noting that his team’s 24 victories, including conquests of four highly-seeded teams, were important in gaining a fourth seed.

The Cyclones beat Texas Tech (which got a No. 1 seed in the Midwest), Alabama (No. 2 Midwest), Iowa (No. 4 West) and Hawaii (No. 8 West) en route to a 24-7 record and a second-place Big 12 finish.

ISU plays the 13th-seeded Kent University Golden Flash on Saturday at approximately 5:30 p.m. The game will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the 3 p.m. game, which will feature No. 5 seed Rutgers and No. 12 seed Oregon.

But the details were of little concern Sunday.

“This is better than anything I ever expected,” said freshman guard Megan Taylor, still bubbling over the announcement. “Now everybody’s parents can come to the game.”

Even bus driver Arnie Schager was excited, though it meant he would be out of a job for at least the first two games of the tourney.

“We’re gonna travel about a mile,” yelled Schager, an Ames resident who attended the party with his wife Marilyn.

Fennelly said playing in front of the home crowd and dozens of family members won’t mean any added pressure.

“It may relax them. We’ve played very well at home,” he said.

“Very well” was probably an understatement. The Cyclones posted a spotless 15-0 mark in Hilton this season, beating their opponents by an average of more than 17 points per game.

The “Hilton Magic” was important to the selection committee as well, Taylor suggested.

“That’s part of why we got the home court advantage — they know our crowds are so great,” she said.

Senior Jayme Olson said ISU is looking for tournament redemption.

“None of us want to end the season the way we felt … at Kansas City. If that had been the final performance I ever gave in an Iowa State uniform, I’d be disappointed,” she said.

But now, Olson and fellow frontcourt star Janel Grimm will be taking the floor at Hilton once more.

“It’s great,” Olson said. “Janel and I were hoping we would get a chance to play in front of our home crowd again.”

The match-up against Kent is an interesting one for the Cyclone coaching staff. Fennelly is longtime friends with Golden Flash head man Bob Lindsey.

“We stay together at every Final Four, and I talk to him every week,” Fennelly said.

In addition, ISU Assistant Brenda Frese served as a Kent assistant coach in 1993-94.