When ISU forward Nicky Wieben first matched-up with Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris as a freshman in 2006, Wieben was a bit taken aback.

“I think I was a little shocked at how strong she was and how physical a player she was,” Wieben said.

Towering at a muscular 6-foot-4, Paris, a three-time All-American center, has cemented herself as one of the best players in the history of her sport.

Paris’ staggering NCAA record-breaking streak 112 consecutive double-doubles was halted only a week ago against Tennessee. The sting from the streak’s expiration was slightly subdued a game later when she set Division I rebounding record (1,823), and also moved to No. 1 on the Big 12’s all-time scoring list (2,481 points).

“She has 2,000-some points. That’s my high school and college scoring combined,” Wieben said. “All around, she’s an amazing player. If she misses a shot, most of the time she gets her own rebound.”

Paris, however, is nowhere close to being the only reason for second-ranked Oklahoma’s 20-2 start.

Along with Paris, the Sooners’ starting cast features four players who average double figures, including Paris’ twin sister Ashley, who averages four points per game and is second in Big 12 in rebounds, behind only her sister.

“There’s nothing that I’ve seen that they don’t have that you would look at and say ‘If you don’t have this, you can’t win.’ They have all those pieces,” ISU coach Bill Fennelly said.

After eight teams in the conference have failed to stop the high-powered Sooners, the challenge falls to Iowa State, who will travel to Norman on Wednesday.

Thanks to a current five-game win-streak, the Cyclones have jumped to third place in the Big 12 and No. 16 in the latest AP poll — their highest spot in the poll since Feb. 8, 2005, when they were No. 14.

Although he remains confident about Wednesday’s game, Fennelly is remaining level-minded about the situation.

“It’s one of the few games that we’ve played recently that there isn’t a lot of pressure,” Fennelly said. “You have to understand what you’re getting into and be honest about it and see what you can do against the second best team in the country.”

Equipped with an offense that averages 80.9 ppg, the Sooners make teams pay for unfulfilled possessions. This makes securing easy lay-ups and free throws even more critical.

“There’s not going to be a lot of room for error on both the offensive and defensive ends,” senior Heather Ezell said, who, along with the rest of the senior class, has never won against the Sooners.

Oklahoma’s offensive proficiency is fueled by a highly efficient style of offense, which owns a Big 12-leading 49.5 field goal percentage.

Add to its potent offense a battering inside game that is anchored by the Paris sisters, and the result is an offense with little weakness . The task of trying to combat the Paris duo’s inside presence will be given to Wieben and her fellow post players.

“You don’t want to get totally overwhelmed by their abilities and overwhelmed by what they can do to a team. And that’s a hard thing to ask,” Fennelly said. “You’re asking players to do things that few people have done.”

Although limiting the Paris twins is the ideal goal, Fennelly is comforted by one thing.

“It’s like my son Steven said, ‘Dad, there’s a lot of other coaches out there a lot smarter that have tried too, and they didn’t do it either.”

Ezell named Big 12 Player of the week

After averaging 18 points and 4.5 rebounds in two games last week, senior Heather Ezell was named the Big 12’s player of the week for the week of Feb. 2.

Ezell recorded 25 points, including seven 3-pointers, during Iowa State’s win over Texas A&M on Wednesday. The senior guard, who is shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc, leads the Cyclones in scoring, averaging 12.6 points per game.