Ames, Iowa ? With two victories already at Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum, Brigham Young might be the closest thing to a home team in the women’s NCAA Midwest Regional.

Now if the Cougars can just get a little home team-type support, they’d feel even better. They’re about to play Tennessee and figure they need all the help they can get.

BYU became just the third No. 11 seed to reach the regional semifinals in the women’s tournament by upsetting sixth-seeded Florida and third-seeded Iowa State in Ames last weekend.

The Cougars’ 75-69 victory over Iowa State on Monday was especially significant because it turned a regional that would have been pro-Iowa State into a neutral setting. And maybe, BYU coach Jeff Judkins hopes, created a few fans for his team.

“We feel at home here,” Judkins said. “The gym is a very good shooting gym. The gym’s got a great atmosphere to it. I hope the fans are on our side and give us boost. We need it.”

BYU (24-8) plays second-seeded Tennessee (27-4) in the first semifinal tonight. Top-seeded Vanderbilt (29-6) plays No. 4 seed North Carolina (26-8) in the second game. The winners meet Monday night for a berth in the Final Four in San Antonio.

It has been an improbable run for BYU, which was 0-4 in the NCAA tournament before this year. The Cougars got in by winning the Mountain West Conference tournament and have taken advantage of their opportunity.

In the two subregional games at Hilton, BYU shot like it had been playing there all year. Erin Thorn made seven 3-pointers against Florida and five players scored in double figures against Iowa State.

“This building, there’s something cool about it,” BYU’s Chanell Rose said. “The people here have been great. There’s so much excitement for us. It’s something we don’t have at Provo. We don’t have a ton of people coming to our games. Just to have all the fans and the excitement is great.”

But a familiar arena won’t help if BYU can’t handle Tennessee’s athleticism and pressure defense. In their last game, the Vols shut down defending national champion Notre Dame in winning 89-50.