Tenth-Seeded MSU Women’s Basketball To Face Iowa State In NCAA Tournament

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State women's basketball will be the No. 10-seed in the Mercado Region of the 2021 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and will face seventh-seeded Iowa State on Monday, March 22. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. ET at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Monday's clash between the Spartans and Cyclones will be nationally televised on ESPN.

The winner of the Michigan State-Iowa State contest will play the winner of second-seeded Texas A&M and 15th-seeded Troy in Wednesday's second round.

Instead of each of the top 16 teams hosting the tournament's first two rounds, every game of the women's basketball NCAA Tournament will be played in the San Antonio area because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the last four rounds tipping off at the Alamodome.

The Spartans have a 15-8 overall record, and Monday's NCAA Tournament game against Iowa State will be Michigan State's second-straight game against a team from Iowa, as the Spartans lost to the Hawkeyes of Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.

MSU is in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five completed seasons, after the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the Spartans are making their 18th trip to the "Big Dance." Michigan State has gone to the NCAA Tournament 15 of the last 18 completed seasons.

This is only the second time in MSU's NCAA Tournament history that the Spartans have been a 10 seed, also doing so in 2012, when Michigan State lost to seventh-seeded Louisville, 67-55, in College Park, Maryland.

Monday's game in the San Antonio will be also MSU's second NCAA Tournament appearance and the third NCAA game played in Texas. Michigan State's only other previous trip to Texas for the NCAA Tournament was in 2004, when the Spartans were the eighth seed in the West Region, knocking off No. 9 seed Arizona, 72-60, before falling to No. 1 seed and host Texas, 80-61.

While Michigan State and Iowa State have a limited series history, their last meeting was also in the NCAA Tournament, in 2009 in Berkeley, California in the Regional Semifinal of the Berkeley Region, when the ninth-seeded Spartans lost to the fourth-seeded Cyclones, 69-68.

Overall, MSU leads the all-time series, 3-2, going 3-0 in East Lansing, 0-1 in Ames and 0-1 on a neutral court, in 2009 in Berkeley, in the only other previous NCAA Tournament meeting. MSU and ISU first met in 1982 in East Lansing.

The 2021 Cyclones earned an at-large bid with a 16-10 overall record after going 12-6 in the Big 12, and were the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, falling to No. 5 seed Texas, 84-82 in OT. The Cyclones are one of just 15 teams nationally to earn NCAA Tournament berths in 12 of the last 15 years. All 19 of the Cyclones' NCAA Tournament appearances have come under the direction of head coach Bill Fennelly.

ISU averaged 76.7 points per game, while yielding 70.8 ppg to the opposition. Junior guard Ashley Joens earned unanimous first-team All-Big 12 accolades for the second season in a row. Joens averages 23.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Lexi Donarski was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, and she currently averages 12.9 points and 2.0 assists, and was the only freshman in the Big 12 to average double-digits this season. She is ISU's first Freshman of the Year since 1998. Kristin Scott rounds out the trio of Cyclones averaging in double-figures and the trio of Big 12 honorees, earning Second-Team All-Big 12 honors. Scott adds 11.8 ppg and 5.7 rpg. Emily Ryan joined Donarski on the All-Freshman team, averaging 8.0 points and dishing out 5.7 assists per game.

Further game information and links to follow all the action from San Antonio will be at MSUSpartans.com.

Tickets to the first round matchup are limited to team personnel and team guests.

Fans also have the opportunity to purchase personalized cutouts that will be placed in the Alamodome for the Final Four. All proceeds will go to the Pat Summitt Foundation, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and the San Antonio Food Bank. For purchasing information, visit NCAA.com.

Tenth-Seeded MSU Women’s Basketball To Face Iowa State In NCAA Tournament

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