The ISU women’s basketball team will meet its first ranked opponent of the season on Wednesday night. However, not only is its opponent ranked, but it’s also the No. 1 team in the nation.

No. 25 Iowa State will travel to Waco, Texas, on Wednesday to face No. 1 Baylor — a team that has only one loss this season to No. 4 Stanford.

ISU coach Bill Fennelly said Monday at a news conference that what Baylor (12-1, 2-0 Big 12) was doing in the Big 12 did not come as a surprise.

“What’s happening in the Big 12 right now is what a lot of people predicted,” Fennelly said. “Baylor is beating up on people and the rest of us are trying to survive.”

Fennelly’s words were all truth. In week nine, all of the Big 12 games, besides Baylor’s, were separated by single digits, including Iowa State’s (11-1, 2-0 Big 12) overtime victory against Texas and a road win against Texas Tech.

Each year it seems the Big 12 becomes a tougher conference to compete in. Fennelly said he and his team are just holding on for the ride.

“It’s the most balanced [the Big 12] has been,” Fennelly said. “Last week was a great microcosm of what could happen. We’re three possessions from being 0-2.”

As of week 10, five Big 12 teams are ranked in the top 25 and Texas Tech is creeping close, receiving votes to be in the top 25.

Preparing for Brittney

Anna Prins matched up against Baylor superstar Brittney Griner once upon a time in AAU basketball before coming to Iowa State. Prins said she was thankful for getting that opportunity.

“I played her once [in AAU], and that was my last year,” Prins said. “But I’m glad that I did get to play her because I got a taste of what her play was like.”

Prins is trying this week to come up with a blueprint to beat the seemingly unstoppable Bears, who are on a 10-game winning streak.

Prins said she will see what the coaches lay out for the team, which is on a six-game winning streak of its own.

“As players, we have to trust our coaches and what they have planned for us,” Prins said. “Just looking at Baylor as a challenge is something we need to do. [Coaches] know best; they’ve been doing this for a long time.”

Senior Chelsea Poppens said fundamentals are what make Griner and her Baylor counterparts so good at the game. 

“They’re just a hard working team,” Poppens said. “Griner is something that we’re not used to going up [against] every game. She’s got a different type of play. She’s a great player and she’s developed a lot.”

Being the 6-foot-8 star she is, Griner will pose a threat the Cyclones will come up against unlike any other this season. But being within such a competitive conference, Fennelly said there is no time for fear. 

“Basketball is not about being scared. This is a game and we’re going to bow up and play our butts off for 40 minutes and then we’re going to come home,” Fennelly said. “But scared is not even remotely in the discussion.”

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.