The month of February is over and what a month it was for the ISU women’s basketball team. Now it is on to the regular-season finale against top-ranked Baylor. 

The Cyclones (19-10, 9-8 Big 12) finished the month 7-2, ending it coasting to an easy 57-33 win on senior night against Kansas State on Wednesday. The 33 points the Cyclones held the Wildcats to was the lowest point total in ISU history. 

On Jan. 7, the Cyclones were defeated by the No. 1 Lady Bears 57-45. Anna Prins had one of her best games of the season, tallying 17 points and six rebounds. She’s looking forward to getting another shot at the nation’s best player, Brittney Griner. 

“I just enjoy playing [Griner] and I try to enjoy it every time too, because I know that she makes me better and she challenges me,” Prins said. “So I just try to take that challenge and get the most out of the game that I can.”

Last time against Baylor, the Cyclones hit six 3-pointers — shooting 37 percent from behind the arc — while holding the Lady Bears to only three 3-pointers. The game was won by Baylor from the free-throw line, where it outscored Iowa State 16-5.

This time, Iowa State has nothing to lose and will be playing that way.

“We have nothing to lose and going into [the game], we have that in the back of our head,” said sophomore forward Hallie Christofferson. “So we can just play and throw it all out on the floor and see what happens.”

Baylor has dominated the entire regular season en route to a perfect 30-0 record, outscoring opponents by 27.8 points per game. The Lady Bears also average 79.1 points per game, which is almost nine more than the next best in the Big 12. 

That’s not to say that the Big 12 isn’t a strong conference, as ISU coach Bill Fennelly said it is the best conference in the nation. With Iowa State virtually a lock to finish in fourth or fifth place in the Big 12, it is almost surely headed for the NCAA tournament.  

“I think this team certainly deserves to be thought of,” Fennelly said after the game on Feb. 29. “When you finish in the top five in the best league in the country, with the best team in the country, then I hope we get looked at really closely.”

The Big 12 has the No. 1 ranking for RPI in the Sagarin and Collegiate Basketball News’ Women’s RPI ratings. It also has nine of its teams in the top 62 rankings, including four in the top 20.

The Big 12 is the only conference with every team having a strength of schedule inside the top 46. 

Baylor is seated at the top of the Big 12 in nearly every major statistical category. It leads in field goal percentage, field goal percentage allowed, scoring margin, rebounding offense and 3-point defense.

In fact, the only major categories Baylor doesn’t lead in is 3-point offense and rebounding defense, which is led by Iowa State by a narrow .2 margin. 

Saturday’s game in Waco, Texas, doesn’t hold any importance in terms of seeding in the Big 12 tournament, in which the Cyclones are a virtual lock for the fourth or fifth seed. In the NCAA tournament, however, the game could mean a higher seeding for Iowa State. 

“Baylor is without question the best team in the country and they are doing it in dominating fashion,” Fennelly said in an email. “This is a very difficult test for us but also a great opportunity to get a tournament feel to a game.

“A good performance against Baylor which most teams have not been able to do will have to help us when we get evaluated by the committee.”

Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. in Waco, Texas.