With six newcomers to Division I women’s basketball on this year’s ISU roster, the Cyclones have been fortunate to have their first two exhibition and regular season games in the friendly confines of Hilton Coliseum.

Now the Cyclones (2-0) will get their first experiences away from Ames as they travel to Cedar Falls on Sunday to face Northern Iowa and next week as they fly to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam Tournament.

“I think we’re in a very important stretch of the season, five of our next six games will be either on the road or at a neutral site,” coach Bill Fennelly said.

Fennelly and the Cyclones will begin that stretch with their second consecutive game against an in-state rival Sunday against the Panthers. Iowa State defeated Drake at home Monday (64-46) for Fennelly’s 500th career victory, but Fennelly expects a much different atmosphere as he and his team try for No. 501.

“Ten of 11 kids on our roster have never played at Northern Iowa and this is the home opener so they’ll be more than ready for us,” Fennelly said.

UNI coach Tanya Warren and her squad are off to a 2-0 start with victories on the road against Colorado State (74-50) and Southeast Missouri State (70-57). Heading into their home opener, the Panthers have been led by Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference players 6-foot-2-inch senior center Lizzie Boeck and 5-foot-8-inch junior guard Jacqui Kalin. Boeck is averaging 15 points and nine rebounds per game while Kalin is averaging 16.5 points per game.

“For them it will be one of their biggest home games of the year and there’s always a lot of emotion that goes into playing UNI,” Fennelly said.

The Panthers are coming off of their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in after winning the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament.

With the Sweet Sixteen finish for last year’s men’s basketball squad and the current success of the No. 12 volleyball team, Fennelly believes that this UNI team is preparing for their own season in the spotlight.

“They’re trying to find their little niche,” Fennelly said. “I’m sure women’s basketball wants to have that and they are poised to have a really good year.”

With three juniors and two seniors in their starting lineup, Fennelly points to the experience of this squad as being an advantage that the Panthers, who were picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference, may have on the Cyclones.

“I think the biggest thing with UNI is that there a very experienced team,” Fennelly said. “Top to bottom when you look at their ability to score the ball and their depth and experience they’re going to be a very good team this year.”

Fennelly-coached teams are 13-2 against the Panthers with their last loss coming in Cedar Falls in 2002.

The first tip on Sunday is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Mediacom.

PARADISE JAM TOURNAMENT

With class out of session for the week, the Cyclones will trade in their sweatshirts and stocking caps for swimsuits and flip-flops as they travel to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam Tournament.

“I think experiences beyond the court are very important for a college athlete,” Fennelly said. “It will be interesting to see how we bond as a team and I hope that this we’ll go a long way in building the chemistry we will need over a four-month season.”

The 40- to 50-degree hike in temperature will be a change of pace for the Cyclones, but so too will be the increase in the level of competition. No. 19 Iowa State will play three games against opponents that qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2009 and have received votes as Top 25 teams already this season.

The Cyclones will kick off competition Thursday against Virginia, which has received votes in both the AP and Coaches poll, then play No. 23 TCU on Friday and No. 10 West Virginia on Saturday. Of the three opponents, the Cyclones have never played Virginia or West Virginia, and last played TCU back in 1986.

“We’ll learn a lot about our team, we’ll play three great teams in only three days,” Fennelly said.

VIRGINIA

Virginia was in Hilton Coliseum last season but not against Iowa State. The Cavaliers finished their 2009-2010 season 21-9 and earned themselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament where they fell 69-67 in the first round to the Cyclones’ second round opponent UW-Green Bay.

Virginia (2-0) kicked off its season with an 82-66 win over Hofstra and an 81-58 victory over Mount St. Mary’s. The Cavaliers are without First Team All-American Monica Wright, who graduated, but will return a pair of dominant post players in 6-foot-3-inch sophomore center Simone Egwu and 6-foot-4-inch redshirt freshman Erinn Thompson, who missed all but three games last season due to injury.

TCU

The Cyclones haven’t played the Horned Frogs since 1986 when Iowa State picked up an 88-60 victory at home. No. 23 TCU (2-0) may not be a familiar foe for the Cyclones but they do have a familiar player on their roster as Whitney Williams, a Fort Worth, Texas native, transferred from Iowa State following last season. Williams, who will sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules, played in all 33 games for the Cyclones and started fourteen games while averaging 5.9 points per game.

The Horned Frogs have a pair of early-season victories over Houston Baptist 96-38 and a double overtime victory over SMU (87-73). Senior Emily Carter scored a school-record 43 points in the victory over SMU. Carter and 2009 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Helena Sverrisdottir are the leading returners for a Horned Frogs squad that fell to Dayton (67-66) in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.

WEST VIRGINIA

The Mountaineers finished last season 29-6 and ranked sixth in the country following a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. West Virginia (2-0) started the season with wins over Loyola, Md. (80-49) and against Duquesne (69-58).

Coach Mike Carey’s squad returns all five starters from last season, led by 2009 Big East Defensive Player of the Year point guard Sarah Miles. Miles has only logged 22 minutes in the Mountaineers first two games as she is coming off of off-season wrist surgery. Senior guard Liz Repella and senior forward Madina Ali have both averaged 18 points per game in Miles’ absence.

With no games against ranked opponents yet this season and matchup with No. 22 Iowa just three weeks away, Fennelly sees this next stretch of games as crucial for the Cyclones success this season.

“As for evaluation, this stretch of the season will be a very important time for us,” Fennelly said. “These four games we’re going to learn about where we are and where we’re not.”

All three games at the Paradise Jam Tournament are scheduled for a 2:15 p.m. start and will all be broadcast online on Fox College Sports Broadband.