Lehigh University women's basketball team prepares for Sunday

The UNLV Rebels couldn't hit a game-tying three-pointer at the end of Thursday's preliminary round game against Northern Iowa, losing 69-66 to the Panthers and falling out of the 2010 March

Madness bracket.No. 9 seed Northern Iowa advances to the second round to square off with No. 1 ranked Kansas or No. 16 Lehigh University.Northen Iowa guar Ali Farokhmanesh anchored the offense, hitting five three-pointers en route to 17 points. He hit a deeper three-point shot that turned out to be the game winner with just a few ticks on the clock.The Lehigh University women's basketball team will be thrust into a difficult spot this weekend.The Patriot League champion Mountain Hawks face the unenviable task of playing Big 12 power Iowa State on its home floor in Ames, Iowa, on Sunday in the first round of the NCAA playoff Tip-off at Hilton Coliseum is scheduled for 9:30 p.m.Lehigh is the 13th seed in the Dayton Regional and Iowa State is the fourth seed.The NCAA committee rewarded the Mountain Hawks (29-3), who set a school and Patriot League record for victories in a season, by moving them up two notches from last season. Lehigh was a 15th seed last year."We thought we'd be a 13 or 14 (seed)," sophomore forward Emily Gratch said. "We're happy to be a 13 seed.""I'd say a 13 seed is pretty accurate," senior guard Kristen Dalton said.Lehigh, which is making its third NCAA tournament appearance, was blown out in its two previous encounters.The 16th-seeded Mountain Hawks lost 103-35 to top seeded Connecticut in a 1997 first-round game in Storrs, Conn. Lehigh advanced to the NCAA tourney with a dramatic 65-63 Patriot League championship game win over Lafayette on Kelly Madden's jumper at the buzzer.Lehigh ran into second seeded Auburn last season and dropped an 85-49 first-round decision to the Tigers at Rutgers.