AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State women’s basketball team will hold a Selection Show viewing event in the Sukup South End Zone Club on Monday, March 18. The viewing will be open to the public, and fans can meet the team and watch the NCAA Selection Show on ESPN alongside the Cyclones and see who Iowa State will face in the NCAA Tournament.

Doors will open at 5 p.m. and attendees will have the opportunity to meet and greet with the team and coaches prior to the Selection Show, which will air on ESPN. The event will officially get underway at 5:45 p.m. beginning with a short program and video highlighting the team’s season to date.

The Selection Show will officially begin at 6 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN. Following the conclusion of the show at 6:30 p.m., Iowa State athletics staff members will provide ticketing information for those in attendance that wish to purchase tickets for the first and second round games.

Light refreshments and bottled water will also be provided.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa women’s basketball senior Megan Gustafson is the ESPNW National Player of the Year. The announcement was made Friday on ESPN.com.

Gustafson, a unanimous selection, is the first ESPNW Player of the Year in program history. She was named a unanimous first-team All-American by ESPNW on Thursday.

Gustafson leads the country in field goal percentage (69.6), points per game (28.0), total points (897), and field goals made (369), ranks second in double-doubles (30) and defensive rebounds per game (10), third in total rebounds (424), and fourth in rebounds per game (13.3).

A native of Port Wing, Wisconsin, Gustafson is the only Hawkeye in program history to win the conference’s player of the year award twice. She is the ninth two-time Big Ten Player of the Year in conference history.

The NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Show airs Monday, March 18 at 6 p.m. (CT) on ESPN. Fans are invited to attend a Big Ten Championship celebration and NCAA Watch Party on Monday. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. with the event beginning at 5 p.m. Admission is free.

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Nicholas Baer made five of Iowa’s 12 3-pointers and scored 17 points, helping the Hawkeyes pull away from Illinois for an 83-62 victory in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. Iowa turned up its play in the second half to stop a four-game losing streak and hand coach Fran McCaffery his first win since he returned Sunday after a two-game suspension for berating an official. The Hawkeyes went 12 for 23 from beyond the arc and turned 15 Illini turnovers into 24 points.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Talen Horton-Tucker hit five 3-pointers and scored 21 points and fifth-seeded Iowa State shot past fourth-seeded Baylor 83-66 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament. The Cyclones (21-11) also had key contributions from Marial Shayok who had 18 with four 3-pointers, Lindell Winginton with 16 points and Tyrese Haliburton with 13.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Devon Dotson scored 17 points, Dedric Lawson added 16 and No. 17 Kansas pulled away in the second half for a 65-57 victory over Texas on Thursday night in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals. David McCormack added 13 points and a career-best nine rebounds for the third-seeded Jayhawks, who advanced to play West Virginia in the semifinals on Friday night. Texas must now wait to learn its NCAA Tournament fate.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Xavier Snead scored 19 points, none bigger than a 3-pointer as the shot clock sounded in the final minute, and No. 15 Kansas State rallied from a slow start to beat TCU 70-61 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Barry Brown added 12 points, Kamau Stokes had 11 and Makol Mawien had 10 for the tournament’s top seed, which advanced to play No. 5 seed Iowa State in the semifinals Friday night.

CHICAGO (AP) — James Palmer Jr. scored 24 points and Nebraska shut down No. 21 Maryland for the first big surprise of the Big Ten Tournament, holding off the Terrapins for a 69-61 victory. Using a seven-man rotation because of injuries and backup guard Nana Akenten’s suspension, the Cornhuskers harassed the Terrapins into 36 percent (18 for 50) shooting and 11 turnovers. Glynn Watson Jr. added 19 points and Isaiah Roby finished with 15.

CHICAGO (AP) — Nicholas Baer got hot from outside. Jordan Bohannon and Tyler Cook hooked up for a memorable slam, and Joe Wieskamp contributed a couple of nice plays. Iowa stopped its four-game slide with one solid all-around performance.
Baer made a career-high five of Iowa’s 12 3-pointers and scored 17 points, helping the Hawkeyes pull away from Illinois for an 83-62 victory on Thursday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Iowa (22-10) turned up its play in the second half to hand coach Fran McCaffery his first win since he returned Sunday after a two-game suspension for berating an official. The Hawkeyes went 12 for 23 from beyond the arc and turned 15 Illini turnovers into 24 points.

It was a similar performance to their meeting in the regular season, when Iowa shot a Carver-Hawkeye Arena-record 68 percent from the field in a 95-71 victory over Illinois on Jan. 20.

Next up for Iowa is No. 10 Michigan on Friday night. The Hawkeyes held the Wolverines to 32 percent shooting in a 74-59 win on Feb. 1 in their only meeting of the season. Baer and company are going to be tough to beat if they continue to shoot well. They were 18 for 32 from the field in the second half.

Iowa looks to strengthen its resume for the NCAA Tournament with another victory over the Wolverines.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Talen Horton-Tucker hit five 3-pointers and scored 21 points and Iowa State beat Baylor 83-66 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.

The Cyclones (21-11) also had key contributions from Marial Shayok who had 18 with four 3-pointers, Lindell Wigginton with 16 points and Tyrese Haliburton with 13.

Iowa State faces top-seeded Kansas State in the semifinals on Friday night.

“Just being a freshman and my teammates having confidence to keep giving me the ball says a lot,” Horton-Tucker said. “I just felt good today and knocked down some shots.”

Mario Kegler led Baylor (19-13) in scoring with 16 while Makai Mason had 14.

Iowa State made 13 three’s and shot over 50 percent from the field in their first win since Feb. 25. The Bears made nine shots from distance and shot just 43 percent.

Both teams came out hot but Mason hit three of his four 3-pointers, the last one part of a 10-1 run that gave the Bears and 18-14 lead. Iowa State finished the first half on a 12-3 run to lead 38-29 as Horton-Tucker finished with four first half triples and 16 points.

“You really have to credit Iowa State,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “It seems like with Tucker if he’s on he’s on and if not he’s not. He was on today and I thought that’s what cost us.”

Haliburton started the second half nailing two 3’s and making a layup to give the Cyclones a 16-point edge before a Baylor timeout. The Cyclones led by as many as 22.

The Cyclones had a clear home-court advantage, which is something that Iowa State coach Steve Prohm doesn’t take for granted.

“This is the elite conference tournament in the country,” he said. “And our fans always travel well. Until you get here, there’s nothing really like it. Iowa State and the Big 12 in Kansas City is surreal and tomorrow will be even better at six o’clock on a Friday night.”

Baylor had just two players with Big 12 Tournament experience coming into the game, but Drew hopes his team will learn from this.

“The great thing about it is this will get us ready for next week,” Drew said. “The escort, the time and just all of the tournament should prepare us for the NCAA tournament.”

The Cyclones beat Baylor after being swept by the Bears in the regular season. They went 1-3 in the regular season against the two teams they could face in the semifinals.

“We will go back and watch the film from today and get ready for whoever’s next,” Prohm said.

UP NEXT

Baylor will await to see their seed in the NCAA tournament on Sunday.

Iowa State is on to the semifinals against first-seeded Kansas State on Friday night.

The Iowa Basketball Coaches Association announced on the Wednesday their selections for the annual Mr. Basketball honor and Class Players of the Year.

Mr. Basketball for 2019 is shared by DJ Carton of Bettendorf and Jake Hilmer of North Linn.

The Class Players of the Year are as follows:

Class 4A: Patrick McCaffery, Iowa City West, Senior.

Class 3A: Bowen Born, Norwalk, Junior.

Class 2A Ryan Schmitt, Van Meter, Senior.

Class 1A: Issa Samake, Grand View Christian, Senior

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — James Palmer Jr. tied a career high with 34 points, and Nebraska beat Rutgers 68-61 in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. Palmer matched a personal best set against Ohio State last season and scored 27 in the second half to carry Nebraska.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jordan Geist scored a career-high 30 points and No. 12 seed Missouri outlasted No. 13 seed Georgia 71-61 in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Missouri (15-16) won for the third time in its last four games to advance to a second-round matchup Thursday with No. 22 Auburn (22-9).
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs began free agency by cutting one of their most popular players in strong safety Eric Berry, who was a dynamic presence when he was healthy but had missed significant time throughout his career. While other teams were touting new additions, the Chiefs announced Berry’s release shortly after the start of the new league year. He would have been guaranteed $7.5 million of salary on Friday.
JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — St. Louis pitcher Carlos Martinez will begin the season on the injured list as the two-time All-Star tries to work his way back from shoulder weakness. Martinez will not appear in an exhibition games. He is to throw on flat ground for the next week before moving to a mound. St. Louis has not announced a timetable for Martinez’s strengthening program. The pitcher received a platelet-rich plasma injection two weeks ago, and manager Mike Shildt said treatment improved Martinez’s condition.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — All-Big 12 forward Dean Wade is expected to miss the entire Big 12 Tournament for No. 15 Kansas State because of a foot injury that has lingered for much of the season. Wildcats coach Bruce Weber said after Wednesday’s practice at Sprint Center that the 6-foot-10 Wade would spend most of his time this week getting treatment.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers opened the new league year by acquiring the defensive playmaker the team was sorely lacking in edge rusher Dee Ford. His agent says the 49ers are sending a 2020 second-round pick to Kansas City for Ford and are giving him a five-year, $87.5 million contract.

(kcchiefs.com) The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Wednesday that the club has released safety Eric Berry.

“On behalf of my family and the entire Chiefs organization, I want to thank Eric for his many contributions to the Chiefs over the last nine seasons,” Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said. “Eric has been a tremendous leader for our football team and an inspiration to so many fans over the years, and we sincerely appreciate all that he has meant to the Chiefs. He will always be an important part of our Chiefs family, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

“We continually evaluate every aspect of our football team and we came to the decision that it was in our best interest to release Eric,” Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach said. “Knowing what Eric has meant to this organization and this city made this an incredibly difficult decision. We wish him nothing but the best.”

“I’d like to thank Eric for his contributions to our team and the Kansas City community over the last nine years,” Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid said. “Seeing his passion and watching his love for the game has been truly remarkable. He’s a special person, and we wish him the best as his career moves forward.”

Berry (6-0, 212) has played in 89 games (87 starts) in nine NFL seasons with the Chiefs (2010-18). His career numbers include 440 tackles (372 solo), 5.5 sacks, 14 interceptions (five return TDs), 51 passes defensed, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

He earned five trips to the Pro Bowl in his time with the Chiefs. Following the 2015 season, Berry was honored with the AP’s Comeback Player of the Year Award as well as being the recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award after overcoming Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He earned the team’s Derrick Thomas Award in 2015 and 2016, given to the team’s most valuable player, voted on by his teammates.

The Fairburn, Ga., native, originally entered the NFL as the fifth-overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Chiefs. He played collegiately at the University of Tennessee.