Cyclones enter hostile environment Wednesday night

AMES - Iowa State freshman guard Brynn Williamson grew up in Kansas City, about a 45-minute drive from Lawrence, Kan.

Small wonder, then, she attended a smattering of women's basketball games at Allen Fieldhouse - if the price was right.

“I'd go to a game if we got free tickets here or there,” Williamson said. “I was all about the men's team.”

Not anymore.

Williamson and the Cyclones seek their first Big 12 win of the season in Wednesday's 7 p.m. game against the Jayhawks at one of college basketball's most celebrated venues.

ISU (9-4, 0-2) lost to Kansas (12-2, 1-1) 86-85 in overtime last season at Lawrence and has dropped four of its last five Big 12 games on the road.

“One of the biggest things is the fans; just not having the home crowd and Hilton (Coliseum) magic there,” Forward Hallie Christofferson said of road struggles. “But we have to generate our own enthusiasm and we have to get ourselves going.”

The Cyclones produced a salty effort Saturday against No. 1 Baylor, trailing just 24-21 at halftime before falling 57-45 at Hilton.

“I told our team before the Baylor game we needed a great effort, you need to believe in the plan and you need to make shots,” ISU coach Bill Fennelly said. “I think we did two out of three. When we get to the third one, we'll have a chance to win games.”

ISU forward Anna Prins provided a bright spot against the Bears, scoring a season-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

She's averaging 14 points in Big 12 play and continues to get stronger after coming back from early-season knee issues.

“I'm sure after the way she played Saturday she'd say she's really close (to full health),” Fennelly said. “She's an important part of our team for a lot of reasons. She's unique in that she has size but she can shoot the ball away from the basket. ... For our team to be competitive, Anna Prins is going to have to be a big part of that equation.”

The Cyclones have never started 0-3 in conference play in Fennelly's 16-plus seasons at the helm.

They stood 1-3 in the Big 12 last season before winning eight of their last 12 regular-season games and reaching the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight time.

“I think we just found a sense of how we needed to play and we needed to start everything at practice,” Christofferson said of last year's late surge. “I remember our practices started getting a little better and it just kind of carried over to the games.”

Williamson, ISU's top 3-point shooter at 37.7 percent, expects to attract a solid contingent of supporters for this key game.

Most of her friends, she said, attend Kansas.

Her family will be there, as well.

“It's always fun to go there and be a fan,” Williamson said. “But now I'm actually going to be playing there.”