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AMES, Iowa — Alison Lacey is used to the routine for NCAA tournament selection shows: Sit in cushy chairs, surrounded by teammates, coaches and a throng of cameras; watch ESPN on the big screen, waiting for Iowa State’s logo to pop up on the brackets; breathe a sigh of relief.
The senior point guard has been through this four times. All four times, the Cyclones have gotten in, though Monday’s announcement took a little longer than Lacey would have liked.
Forty-one minutes after the selection show started, ISU was announced as a No. 4 seed in the Dayton, Ohio, regional. The Cyclones play No. 13 Lehigh in Sunday’s first round at Hilton Coliseum. The other game in Ames pits No. 5 Virginia against No. 12 Green Bay.
“I’m always nervous; my stomach was kind of turning,” Lacey said.
ISU’s place in the 64-team bracket was never in doubt.
The Cyclones (23-7) are ranked No. 16. They finished the regular season ranked second in the Big 12, widely considered the most rugged women’s basketball conference in the country.
Of 32 first-round matchups, ISU’s game was announced 28th. It was long enough to have some players squirming.
“Every single game that pops up, you start thinking, ‘Is this going to be us? Is this going to be us?’” ISU guard Kelsey Bolte said. “Of course you get a little nervous when the blank brackets come up on the screen.”
The Cyclones are coming off Friday’s 62-59 loss to No. 20 Oklahoma State in a Big 12 tournament quarterfinal.
With Lacey sidelined because of pneumonia, the Cyclones have lost two of their past three games. Before that, they had won six of seven.
Lacey, the national leader in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.21-to-1), practiced for the first time this month earlier Monday. Lacey, the Cyclones’ leader in scoring (16.5 points per game), assists (6.3) and steals (1.4), said she is feeling better every day and expects to play this weekend.
ISU coach Bill Fennelly said his team practiced better Monday than they had in two weeks. And he knows why.
“She just changes the way we do things,” Fennelly said of Lacey. “I think everyone in the building is more calm.”
Should the Cyclones get past the first two rounds, a likely matchup against No. 1 Connecticut, winners of 72 straight games by double digits, awaits in the Sweet 16.
But Fennelly said he’s not answering any questions about UConn.
For now, the Cyclones are savoring their fourth straight trip to the NCAA tournament.
“Today was a long day of waiting,” Fennelly said.
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