The ISU women’s basketball team is rolling.

Winners of five straight, including wins over then-No.25 Nebraska and then-No.13 Texas A&M, the Cyclones are poised to make a run for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.

The Cyclones (22-7, 10-6) pulled in the No. 5 seed, and face No. 12 seed Kansas State (16-13, 4-12) at 2:30 p.m. in the first round Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

Iowa State’s cause is helped by its No. 5 seed, which gives the Cyclones favorable positioning in the tournament bracket. A win in round one sets up a rubber match with No. 4 seed Nebraska, and a win over the Huskers likely stages a rematch against No. 1 seed Texas A&M.

Wins earlier in the season against Nebraska and Texas A&M is giving the Cyclones reassurance they can make a championship run.

“We have a lot of confidence. We want to stay here all week,” said senior All-Big 12 guard Lyndsey Medders.

Much of the Cyclones’ confidence stems from knowing they won’t have to face the daunting bottom half of the bracket. Had the Cyclones fallen to the No. 6 seed, they would have had to go through No. 3 seed Baylor, and probably Courtney Paris’ No. 2 seed Oklahoma Sooners to reach the finals. The Cyclones lost to Baylor 81-64 and 69-49 to Oklahoma.

Despite catching the key seeding break, their path through the tournament won’t exactly be a stroll in the park. For all the danger the rest of the conference poses, it may very well be No. 12 seed Kansas State in round one that poses the biggest threat to derail the Cyclones championship hopes.

Although Iowa State has beaten the Wildcats, losers of five straight, both times this season, the Cyclones narrowly escaped a shooting barrage by Kansas State in both games, winning 73-68 on Jan. 27, and 64-61 on Feb. 24. Iowa State doesn’t seem to be looking past the Wildcats in the first round, and Medders has a pretty good idea of how to halt Kansas State’s attack.

“We really have to focus on staying in front of their guards and not letting them get good looks,” Medders said.

She’s right. In the first matchup, Wildcats Kimberly Dietz and Claire Coggins combined for 11 3-point baskets and totaled 46 points, and in the final matchup, Ashley Sweat almost single-handedly beat the Cyclones going 4-4 from 3-point-land for 25 points.

The Cyclones have big plans for the week, but those plans are pending on the Cyclones ability to weather the Wildcats shooting proficiency.

“Ashley Sweat killed us last time. Coggins, Dietz and Sweat all have had career highs against us,” Fennelly said. “They are a very good team.”