After breezing by Houston Baptist in the season opener, Iowa State prepares to take on in-state foe Drake University, which lost its season opener to Illinois-Chicago.

While the Bulldogs lost their opener, they are likely to provide more of a challenge for the Cyclones.

“They’re coached very well by coach [Amy] Stephens,” said assistant coach Latoja Schaben. “She does a great job there. They have a great player in Rachael Hackbarth. She’s a great post player and is the focal point of that team. They have some good guards coming back and are a pretty good team.”

Hackbarth led the Bulldogs with 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting in the loss to Illinois-Chicago. She also grabbed nine rebounds. Guard Brittnye McSparron helped out with 10 points and four rebounds.

For the Cyclones freshman Nikki Moody made an impact right away. She scored eight points and dished out seven assists in her first ever NCAA game. Moody also got the start over senior point guard Chassidy Cole.

This will be an early road test for the Euless, Texas, native. While Drake is only 30 minutes from home court, Schaben said the environment of a smaller gym will test Moody’s nerves.

“The most important thing for her is going to be controlling the ball,” Schaben said. “She needs to take care of the ball and understand that she isn’t just going to be able to pass the ball into the wings. They do a very good job of guarding on the wings. She’s had a couple really good games, so we’ll see how she does on the road for the first time.”

For the Cyclones, taking care of the ball has become an early area for improvement. Iowa State turned it over 14 times in the final exhibition against Rockhurst.

Junior forward Chelsea Poppens struggled, particularly in the first half, to finish around the rim. She shot just 1-4 in 17 minutes of action and finished with 6 points. Her other four points came from the free throw line.

“I feel like I need to slow down,” Poppens said. “Sometimes I feel like I just rush to get the ball up there or think too much about it. That causes me to miss some layups.”

This is the Cyclones earliest road game since the 1989 season. Getting a road game out of the way early is something that the team is looking forward to.

“We have to do it sometime,” Poppens said. “It’s better to just get it out of the way and learn from that experience.”