SAN ANTONIO, Texas  – Survive and advance. The Iowa State women’s basketball team (17-10, 12-6 Big 12) did just that Monday night in a 79-75 victory over Michigan State (15-9, 8-7 Big Ten) in the first round of the NCAA Championship.

The win advances the Cyclones to the second round with a match up vs. No. 2-seeded Texas A&M on Wednesday.

Iowa State was able to stave off a Michigan State team that quickly erased a seven-point deficit at the beginning of the fourth quarter and was down by just one point (76-75) with :26 seconds left in the contest.

Iowa State made 6-of-their-last-8 free-throws, including a pair from Lexi Donarski with :26 seconds left and one by Ashley Joens with :02 seconds remaining to ice the victory.

With the season on the line the Cyclones went to their big gun Joens, who was absolutely sensational. The Big 12 leading scorer broke ISU’s NCAA Tournament scoring record by pouring in 33 points, her seventh 30-point outing of the season. Joens also drilled four 3-pointers and grabbed nine boards in the win.

Joens’ 33 points ties for the fifth-most by a Big 12 player in a NCAA Tournament game since 2000.

The Cyclones also received a major boost from off the bench from Madison Wise, who tallied her second double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 caroms. She was 5-of-7 from the field.

ISU also made a big dent with its 3-point shooting, connecting on 9-of-22 from downtown (41.0 percent).

The first quarter went according to plan for the Cyclones. Connecting on 64 percent of its shots from the field, including a 5-of-6 effort from downtown, Iowa State led 26-20 after the first 10 minutes. A key 8-0 run late in the quarter fueled by Wise and Joens 3-pointers allowed the Cyclones to move ahead.

Joens (10 points) and Kristin Scott (seven points) combined for 17 of ISU’s 26 points in the quarter.

MSU opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 30-28 lead, but the Cyclones quickly answered with an Emily Ryan bomb and a scoop shot from Joens, who was fouled and converted the free-throw to make it 34-30 ISU.

The half ended with the Cyclones owning a 45-39 lead, as Joens had 18 first-half points despite sitting out seven minutes to protect a couple of early fouls.

Joens helped the Cyclones increase their lead to 56-47 with under four minutes remaining in the third stanza by scoring seven of the team’s first 11 points. However, Joens picked up her third foul and Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly made the wise move to sit Joens for the remainder of the period.

With Joens on the bench, the Cyclones remained on top to begin the fourth period at 63-56.

The Spartans briefly tied the game in the fourth quarter, but the Cyclones were able to counter and never gave up the lead for the remaining of the game.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Chris Duarte scored 23 points and Oregon showed no signs of rust in beating No. 2 seed Iowa 95-80 to reach the Sweet 16. The seventh-seed Ducks were put in an unprecedented spot by advancing to the West Region’s second round without playing a game. Virginia Commonwealth’s multiple positive COVID-19 tests took care of that and left the Ducks with a nine-day gap since losing in the Pac-12 Tournament title game.

Oregon guard Chris Duarte (5) drives on Iowa forward Keegan Murray (15) during the second half of a men’s college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Monday, March 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Oregon’s offense hummed like it was fresh off the line once the ball went up. It kicked off the NCAA Tournament’s first Monday of second-round games with a masterpiece.

The Iowa State women open the NCAA Tournament late Monday afternoon in San Antonio against Michigan State. The seventh seeded Cyclones enter with a record of 16-10 while the 10th seeded Spartans are 15-8. ISU coach Bill Fennelly.

Fennelly says the Spartans cause concerns.

Fennelly says the Spartans have depth and versatility.

It is a 5:00 p.m. central time tip off.

Iowa plays Oregon Monday morning in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes advanced with an 86-74 win over Grand Canyon while the Ducks moved on after Virginia Commonwealth withdrew due to COVID protocols. Oregon won the Pac-12 regular season title. Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon says Oregon’s smaller lineup will come at them with a variety of presses.

It will be an 11:10am tip off. We’ll have coverage on the Hawkeye Radio Network with pregame starting at 10:00 a.m.

Monday’s NCAA Men’s Tournament Schedule

#7 Oregon vs. #2 Iowa 11:10 a.m. CBS and KJAN
#8 Oklahoma vs. #1 Gonzaga 1:40 p.m. CBS
#14 Abilene Christian vs. #11 UCLA 4:15 p.m. TBS
#13 Ohio vs. #5 Creighton 5:10 p.m. TNT
#8 LSU vs. #1 Michigan 6:10 p.m. CBS
#5 Colorado vs. #4 Florida State 6:45 p.m. TBS
#10 Maryland vs. #2 Alabama 7:45 p.m. TNT
#6 USC vs. #3 Kansas 8:40 p.m. CBS

The Morningside women’s basketball team is headed to the NAIA National Semifinals with an 83-67 win over Concordia on Saturday in Sioux City.

Sierra Mitchell scored 26 points and a 19-4 run at the end of the first half put Morningside in control. The Mustangs are in the midst of a 23-game winning streak and are now 29-2 overall. Exira-EHK grad Sophia Peppers contributed 8 points and 8 rebounds in the win over Concordia.

The Mustangs advance to a national semifinal meeting with top-seeded Thomas More (KY) in Sioux City on Monday at 6:00 p.m. The winner will play for a national championship on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

The track and field season is starting to get revved up and the Atlantic boys team competed at the Central College Indoor meet in Pella on Saturday. Here is some of the finishes for the Trojans.

Long Jump
21st- Jackson McLaren

High Jump
9th Jayden Proehl

1600 Meters
19th Zane Berg
23rd Drew Engler

60 Meter Hurdles
5th Collin Mullenix

400 Meters
7th Collin Mullenix

800 Meters
6th Craig Alan Becker

200 Meters
27th Garrett Reynolds
34th Zane Vance

3200 Meters
9th Zane Berg
14th Drew Engler

4×400 Meter Relay
10th Atlantic (Zane Vance, Bennett Whetstone, Craig Alan Becker, Collin Mullenix)

Full results and times HERE.

With Jim Field.

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

UNDATED (AP) — Several freshmen showed no jitters on the opening day of the women’s NCAA Tournament. In fact, they embraced the bright lights of the Big Dance. It came as no surprise that Iowa’s Caitlin Clark began a run of impressive performances in the first game of the tournament. She was the nation’s leading scorer during the regular season. There were others. Anaya Boyd averaged only eight minutes a game for Georgia Tech. She made major contributions down the stretch to help the Yellow Jackets avoid being upset in the first round.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Freshman Caitlin Clark, the nation’s leading scorer, had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Monika Czinano also scored 23 points, and No. 5 seed Iowa beat 12th-seeded Central Michigan 87-72 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Clark was held to two points in the third quarter but teammate McKenna Warnock, who was scoreless in the first half, scored 11 straight Iowa points — capped by a 3-pointer to give the Hawkeyes a 63-52 lead. Clark scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to start Iowa’s 8-3 run to build an 18-point lead. Micaela Kelly finished with 23 points in 27 minutes for Central Michigan.

UNDATED (AP) — The Oregon Ducks moved on to the next round in a way they didn’t wish for, want or expect when positive COVID-19 tests bounced VCU from the NCAA Tournament before the teams’ first-round game in the West Region. Now it’s on to face No. 2 seed Iowa. By the time No. 7 seed Oregon takes the floor for the second round, it will have been 10 days since the Ducks played a game. The Ducks straddle a fine line between rested and rusty. The Hawkeyes are now tournament-tested after an 86-74 win over Grand Canyon. Elsewhere in the West, top-seeded Gonzaga takes on Oklahoma.

UNDATED (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have given six-time All-Star catcher Salvador Pérez the richest contract in club history, an $82 million, four-year deal that begins in 2022. The contract includes a club option worth an additional $13.5 million and has a $2 million buyout for 2026. The deal surpasses the four-year, $72 million contract the Royals gave to outfielder Alex Gordon in 2016. That deal wound up being a disappointment and Gordon retired after last season. Pérez is coming off a season in which he won his third Silver Slugger. He is also a five-time Gold Glove winner.

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Zion Webb threw for a touchdown and ran for another and Jacksonville State handled Southeast Missouri State 21-3. Webb’s 9-yard run finished a nine-play, 75-yard drive to start the game for a 7-0 Gamecocks lead. Webb wrapped it up with a 54-yard scoring pass to Josh Samuel as part of a six-play, 78-yard drive with 1:44 left in the third for the game’s final score. Andrew Bunch threw for 120 yards for the Redhawks. Kenny Doak’s 33-yard field reduced Southeast Missouri State’s deficit to 7-3 with 2:44 left in the first.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Freshman Caitlin Clark, the nation’s leading scorer, had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Monika Czinano also scored 23 points, and No. 5 seed Iowa beat 12th-seeded Central Michigan 87-72 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, right, shoots over Central Michigan guard Molly Davis (14) during the second half of a college basketball game in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament at the Alamodome, Sunday, March 21, 2021, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Clark was held to two points in the third quarter but teammate McKenna Warnock, who was scoreless in the first half, scored 11 straight Iowa points — capped by a 3-pointer to give the Hawkeyes a 63-52 lead. Clark scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to start Iowa’s 8-3 run to build an 18-point lead. Micaela Kelly finished with 23 points in 27 minutes for Central Michigan.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Iowa State’s David Carr continues to etch his name deeper into Iowa State wrestling history. On Saturday night, the Canton, Ohio, native won the 2021 157-pound NCAA Wrestling Championship.

With his national title, Carr becomes Iowa State’s 50th individual wrestler to win a national title and the 70th-overall individual national champion in program history.

As a team, Iowa State tied for 13th at the 2021 NCAA Championships with 37.5 team points.

Session VII (Finals)

In the 157-pound championship bout, Carr took on Jesse Dellavecchia from Rider. After a scoreless first period, Carr began the second with an escape. He added a takedown and finished the period on top. Heading to the final stanza, Carr led 3-0.

In the final period, Carr went to work on top, stifling any attempt by Dellavecchia to get to his feet. He racked up 2:04 of riding time and posted a 4-0 decision to claim the 157-pound crown.

With his championship performance, Carr gives head coach Kevin Dresser his first-ever individual National Champion. Carr becomes Iowa State’s first NCAA Champion since 2015, when Kyven Gadson won the 197-pound bracket in the very same arena.

Session VI (Medal Round)

During the medal rounds on Saturday morning, two-time All-American Gannon Gremmel wrestled to a fifth-place finish at 285 pounds. Coming into the week, the heavyweight bracket was touted as one of the deepest in the tournament.

After dropping a tight 3-1 decision to Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State in sudden victory in the consolations-semifinals, Gremmel took on Wisconsin’s Trent Hillger in the fifth-place match at 285 pounds.

The Big 12 Champion got to work early against Hillger, taking him down in the first period. Gremmel finished the period on top and led 2-0. Hillger put in a tough ride to begin the second, but Gremmel eventually broke free and reversed the Badger to extend the lead to 4-0. In the end, it was Gremmel over Hillger, 4-0, for a fifth-place finish for the Cyclones.

NCAA Champion Notes

• – David Carr is Iowa State’s first NCAA champion since 2015 (Kyven Gadson)
• – Carr is Iowa State’s 50th individual national champion and 70th individual national champion overall
• – Carr is Iowa State’s first 157-pound champion since 2007 (Trent Paulson)
• – Carr is Kevin Dresser’s first-career individual national champion