AMES — Sunday’s game between No. 3 Iowa State and No. 6 Georgia started off strongly, with the Cyclones leading 9-0 with four forced turns before their opponents could call it timeout.
The team won 65-30 to make it to the Sweet 16 and was able to do so for the first time since 2012. But, what happened after that first win created an environment at Hilton Coliseum that was unmatched by any other.
As Cyclone fans cheered the lead their team had built on Georgia, the video board in the arena began to display the school’s men’s team – which led Wisconsin in the closing minutes of its own second-round game in Milwaukee.
“I know exactly (when I noticed the men’s game being on the scoreboard),” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. “Everyone was cheering. With 4:05 remaining, we were leading 50-42. I looked up and I saw that on the scoreboard and I knew, the way the game was going, we were going to win.”
The game was re-opened and the teams continued to play, but with a different energy level.
There was a good chance each of the basketball programs would go to the Sweet 16 if they could make their plays – which is the first time since 2000 that both programs reached the mark in the same season.
Iowa State led Georgia by 11-0 before Georgia could make any shot. The score was then 14-7 at the end of the first quarter media timeout.
You can now turn on the videoboard again. Jaz Kunc They fought for it and won a timeout. With the men leading 50-45, the clock was only 48 seconds left, the men were leading 50-45.
“I think it definitely brought some extra energy,” Emily Ryan said. “It got a little buzz going and made it a lot of fun. Everyone was peeking up at the scoreboard to see what the score was.”
A new wave of energy swept through the arena.
Boom. Ryan Hits a three out of the timeout. Moments later Ashley Joens She buried a triple of herself. Georgia had the ball in her hands late in the quarter, but she turned it over to Ryan, who got a bucket with two seconds remaining.
Iowa State finished the quarter with a 9-0 run, and entered the break with an advantage of 23-7.
At the media timeout in the second quarter, the final five seconds of the men’s game played over the video board.
“We weren’t able to really look up too much, but when you hear the crowd go crazy during a timeout, there’s no other option than to think the guys are doing really well,” Ryan said.
The entirety of Hilton Coliseum watched its men’s team punch its ticket to the second weekend, and then they got more.
They were able to see Ryan score 15 points and assist with nine assists, while also setting a school record for dimes in one season.
They watched Lexi Donarski Joens drops 20 points and gets another double-double.
There wasn’t a fan in the arena that wasn’t making noise when Maddie FrederickA leader who can motivate her team from the bench, a shot was taken by Judith late in the fourth quarter.
In one of their most dramatic wins of the year, the Cyclones have just made it to the Sweet 16.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted something, professionally, more in my life than to see these guys have the opportunity (to play in the Sweet 16),” Fennelly said.
No. No. 10 Creighton, Friday night in Greensboro (North Carolina). An official tipoff time has yet to be announced.
“Sometimes in life, you earn things and you get it,” Fennelly said. “Well, this group earned it and they got it. It’s pretty damn sweet.”
