OKLAHOMA CITY – The whole stadium knew who would take the shot. It didn’t matter.

Lyndsey Medders capped a furious Cyclone rally and the ISU women’s basketball team has returned to the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament for the first time in five years.

Down three points with less than 10 seconds left, Medders dribbled around a picture-perfect screen set by sophomore forward Nicky Wieben, and launched a 3-pointer.

The shot went down, and the Cyclones eventually went on to beat Nebraska 79-76 in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday.

“[Wieben] turned around a perfect screen, and when she set that screen, the ball left my hands,” Medders said. “It felt really good. My shots felt good all game.”

Medders led all scorers with 27 points, and Wieben and freshman guard Alison Lacey each had 14.

Things looked rough early for the Cyclones, who went on to earn their seventh consecutive win. The Cyclones trailed by as many as 10 points in the game, and went into halftime down by nine.

Defensive adjustments were effective after halftime, though, and the Cyclones held Nebraska to just 28 percent shooting in the second half, compared to its 64 percent mark in the first half.

“I wasn’t real happy at halftime. They need a new dry erase board in the locker room, probably,” ISU coach Bill Fennelly joked. “I just didn’t think we defended at all in the first half . You have to defend better against that kind of offensive team.”

The Cyclones played streaky ball throughout much of the game, often chiseling Nebraska’s lead down to one or two points. The Cornhuskers always seemed to have an answer, though, and it looked as if the Cyclones wouldn’t be able to overtake them.

And down three points with time running out, it seemed almost hopeless.

Enter Medders.

Iowa State had one timeout left, but rather than use it, the team quickly broke through Nebraska’s press and got the ball to Wieben. Wieben got the ball to Medders, and the rest is in the books.

“I kind of prefer to see what the defense does and try to react to it,” Medders said. “And Wieben deserves a lot of credit for the screen she set. I don’t think I would have gotten the shot off if she didn’t do that.”

Just like that, the Cyclones are off to the semifinals and are only one win away from reaching the Big 12 Championship Game.

Not an easy task, considering they have to make it through top-seeded Texas A&M, who blasted Colorado on Wednesday, 62-45.