Iowa State will make the trip out to Stanford, California, for its first game of the NCAA Tournament to face No. 10 seed Maryland.
It is no secret that the Iowa State women’s basketball team battled through adversity this season to make the NCAA Tournament. New faces and an unforeseen injury highlighted the questions and concerns before the season began.
After gelling all season, the freshmen and transfers have found a groove and their roles on the team. Add that to Emily Ryan’s return late in the non-conference slate, and the Cyclones are heating up as the Big Dance awaits.
With a 20-11 record with 14 Big 12 wins including the conference tournament, Iowa State defied the odds and made it to the Big 12 Championship game. The push to end the season allowed Iowa State to grab a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“It doesn’t happen every year,” senior Hannah Belanger said. “For me, it’s rarely happened.”
Maryland, which enters with a 19-13 record, went 9-9 in the Big Ten and made the conference tournament semifinals. In the Terrapins’ Big Ten Tournament run, they had a 21-point win over No. 2 seed Ohio State before they were eliminated by No. 6 seed Nebraska.
“I’m excited,” freshman Addy Brown said. “I know they are a very good team. It’ll be a good game, but we’re gonna prepare the best we can and go out there and give it everything we’ve got.”
A familiar face leads Maryland in head coach Brenda Frese. Frese was Iowa State’s assistant coach under Bill Fennelly in the late 1990s before becoming Maryland’s head coach in 2002, going on to win the 2006 National Championship.
“The committee has a sense of humor,” Fennelly said. “[Frese] is part of our family. [Frese] started this with me. Hall of fame coach, hall of fame person.”
Frese has the highest win percentage of all head coaches in the history of Maryland women’s basketball at .793. She has made the NCAA Tournament 19 of her 21 years as the Maryland head coach and has made every tournament since 2011.
This season, Frese’s Terrapins faced a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule that included overall No. 1 seed South Carolina and No. 3 seed UConn. In the common opponent of No. 1 seed Iowa, Maryland lost to the Hawkeyes by eight, compared to the Cyclones who lost by nine.
Maryland is similar to Iowa State in offensive and defensive scoring, shooting percentage, rebounding and nearly every statistic that is recorded, with the Cyclones at a slight advantage in most. The big difference will likely come down to turnovers, something Iowa State has struggled with a lot this season.
Both teams have three players that average 10 or more points per game and many 3-point shooters that made over 33% of their perimeter shots entering the tournament. The team that can establish a strong defensive effort early and throughout the game will likely be the one to set the tone and win the game.
“Celebrate it. Enjoy it. Play as hard as you can,” Fennelly said about the NCAA Tournament opportunity.
The winner will face either No. 2 seed Stanford or No. 15 seed Norfolk State. Before that is determined, Iowa State and Maryland will play at 6:30 p.m. Friday with the game being aired on ESPN2.
