Surrounded by a sea of orange jerseys, senior Amanda Nisleit muscled her way through the onlooking Oklahoma State offense to snatch yet another rebound.

Without hesitation, the six-foot forward immediately switched her attention down the court as she hustled to join her teammates on offense.

Under the cover of this humble and focused mindset, Nisleit made her presence known Saturday in the Cyclones’ 63-55 upset victory over the No. 21 Cowgirls, helping herself to a career-high 15 rebounds.

“There’s not a kid who plays harder than her,” coach Bill Fennelly said.

“I mean c’mon. She’s six foot tall and she can’t even jump over the Gilbert phone book, but it’s all about effort. She always works hard on defense. She always tries to rebound, but to find a way to score like she did, that’s what’s special kids and teams do.”

Saddled with her rebounding numbers, Nisleit completed her second career double-double, tallying 12 points —  all of which came in the second half.

With the help of fellow post player Nicky Wieben’s 23 points, the duo combined for more than half of the team’s 65 points.

“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to our post players for getting inside, scoring and doing the other things when we’re not hitting from the outside,” senior Heather Ezell said.

Although solidified in her position as a steady — albeit often overlooked — contributor, Nisleit’s name has recently started to stand out more on the stat sheet.

The change came in early December when her scoring averaged had plateaued at 5.9 points per game.

Following his team’s forgettable 20-point loss to Iowa on Dec. 7, coach Fennelly promised that fans would see a different line-up when the Cyclones took the floor against Drake later in the week.

The statement proved to not be a bluff as Nisleit, along with Wieben and senior Kelsey Bolte, began the game on the bench for the first time this season.

Nisleit showed she was not fazed with the change by responding with a career-high 18-points. From that moment on she has averaged 9.5 points in the last eight games, increasing her season average by nearly three points.

“It’s good to see everyone enjoy their success, but it is really special to see a kid like that get her moment, and she has had a couple this year,” Fennelly said.

Keeping with her humble personality, Nisleit, a native of Minnesota, was quick to credit her teammates for helping to draw the opposition away from her.

“[Opponents] are guarding the other players more so it gives me more opportunities, better looks,” Nisleit said. “They can’t come off the shooters so it opens it up inside.”

Owing to her success, the coaching staff has begun implementing a couple of more plays to help give her more looks at the basket. Fennelly also attributes Nisleit’s increased numbers to an acceptance to take the open shot.

“I think with Amanda a lot of it’s been is ‘I’m the role player. I’m not supposed to shoot. I do the dirty work. I’m an offensive lineman and nobody knows my name unless I get called for a foul.’”

Her name was clearly known Saturday as it could be heard thundering through the loud speakers at Hilton Coliseum after laying in a basket to draw the Cyclones within a point of the Cowgirls.

Although she does not have a flashy or highlight reel-like style, Fennelly said Nisleit’s impact on the team is still noteworthy.

“We say every year she’s not going to play,” Fennelly said. “Where are we going to play her? Next year, we’re all going to be looking and thinking ‘where’s Niz?’”

Wieben breaks out of slump with authority

When Wieben showed up at the press conference after Saturday’s game, her offensive struggles from the past few weeks seemed to be completely out of mind.

Wieben had her way with the Cowgirl defense as she finished with 23 points — one shy of her career high. 

Iowa State worked the ball inside early on, allowing her to get into a rhythm right away.

Four minutes into the game all 12 of the Cyclones’ points belonged to Wieben.

“A lot of the shots were open lay-ups. There weren’t a lot of people defending me. I was able to run up the floor. Give a lot of credit to the guards for getting the ball inside right away.”

Wieben’s offensive outburst came on the tail end of a lengthy cold streak, which lasted for most of winter break.

Prior to Saturday, Wieben had averaged only 5.4 points in her last five games — five points below her season average at the time.

Unhappy with the way she had been playing, the senior forward said she had a long talk with her father.

“We just kinda talked about when you’re struggling just keep going forward, keep looking forward, find anything I can to help the team, whether it be scoring, rebounding or anything really.”

Fennelly, who had been critical of Wieben and the rest of the post players after the IPFW game, said Wieben’s performance Saturday was one of her best as a Cyclone.

“There’s no question she’s fighting it and to be honest she should be fighting it,” Fennelly said.

“She wasn’t at the level she’s capable of playing. The kid has scored 1,000 points at Iowa State, so it’s not like she hasn’t done it before.”