After losing lone senior Tocarra Ross for the season due to a torn ACL on Dec. 21 against Minnesota, the ISU women’s basketball team has been dealt another hand of misfortune.

The Cyclones’ strength at the post position dwindled even more when junior Nicky Wieben went down with a knee injury at the midpoint of the second half Wednesday night against Texas in Austin. She will not play against Nebraska (13-4, 2-1 Big 12) on Saturday.

“Nicky going down is going to be a huge hurdle for us,” said coach Bill Fennelly. “So, right now, the two people that would be starting at the four and five positions for us aren’t playing, and we’ll have to come up with some new ideas to combat that.”

Starting in her place will be junior college transfer Jocelyn Anderson, who is averaging 5.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

The Cyclones (12-4, 1-2) will not lose any height advantage as Anderson, like Wieben, stands 6-feet-4-inches tall, but are now faced with a lack of experience. Wieben has started for the majority of her three-year career, while Anderson is averaging just 18.4 minutes per game in her first season at the Division I level.

“Having Nicky gone will definitely be an issue,” said freshman Kelsey Bolte. “But we do have some four-guard sets we’ll have to go to since we don’t have many posts available right now.”

Bolte, who was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week for her performances against Oklahoma and Colorado, is third in the Big 12 in scoring during the conference season with 21.3 points per game.

After facing three consecutive ranked teams to start the conference season, the Cyclones face no easier a task in the Huskers, who defeated then-No. 15 Texas, 56-45, in Lincoln last weekend.

“So far, we’ve had three very tough games against quality opponents,” Fennelly said. “I think our kids understand the physical nature and the little things you need to win in this league. We’re probably two plays away from being 3-0 or 0-3.”

The somewhat vertically challenged Cornhuskers will consistently play just two players over 6-feet tall, one of them being Preseason All-Big 12 selection Kelsey Griffin. The junior is averaging 11.8 points per game while battling a rib injury since November. Nebraska coach Connie Yori said at the Big 12 coaches teleconference that she has practiced very little since the injury, and has been playing through a lot of pain.

Like the Cyclones, Nebraska will put a very young team on the court, with 11 of its 13 players in their first or second year with the team. Despite the inexperience, the Huskers will go deep into their bench to keep fresh legs on their press defense.

“They are going to press us for 40 minutes and be very physical,” Fennelly said. “So we’ll need to do a good job with taking care of the ball and managing the game with a limited bench, which is always a challenge.”