When the Cyclones (19-7, 7-6 Big 12) take the floor at Hilton Coliseum for their final regular-season home game Tuesday night, there is more on the line than just winning their 20th game, getting to eight wins in the conference or even playing rival No. 25 Nebraska (21-6, 9-4 Big 12).

As Iowa State plays one of its most pivotal games of the year, there is a theme to the game that will drown out everything else – senior night.

The game is likely the last time that seniors Lyndsey Medders, Megan Ronhovde and Abby Reinert grace the floor in front of the Cyclone faithful at Hilton Coliseum.

“It’s not real yet,” Ronhovde said. “I think it will be a bittersweet feeling.”

Though the three seniors have taken very different paths in becoming seniors on the team, they are still a close-knit group.

Medders, who has started at least 21 games in each of her four seasons at Iowa State, is from Los Angeles, Calif., where she was a McDonald’s high school All-American nominee.

Ronhovde, who has also been a key contributor all four years on campus, is from Barrett, a small town in western Minnesota.

And Reinert, from Union, walked on to the team in 2003 and got her lone career start against Kansas last season.

Medders and Ronhovde have made quite an impact on Iowa State’s all-time career charts in their four years wearing cardinal and gold.

Ronhovde ranks third all-time at Iowa State in three-pointers made, seventh in rebounding and seventh in games played, while Medders tops the ISU chart for assists, is seventh in three-pointers made, and ninth in scoring.

The two have been in the starting lineup for 23 of Iowa State’s 26 games this season, and have developed a strong relationship over the last four years.

Coach Bill Fennelly said the geographic and cultural differences Medders and Ronhovde experience in their hometowns are reason enough for him to believe in the saying, “opposites attract.”

“It is really what college sports are supposed to be about – a southern California kid rooming with a farm kid from Minnesota,” Fennelly said. “[There is] no rhyme or reason why that should work, and it’s worked perfectly.”

“I think the stories that they will have [when they leave here] will be way beyond basketball. Lyndsey still thinks it’s a shock that tractors have radios. She thought that was really cool.”

Medders said she has always been emotional on senior night in years past, watching other seniors go through the difficult task of bidding farewell to Hilton Coliseum and the fans. She added she has always tried to get a win for the seniors, which Fennelly labeled as the ultimate goal of senior night.

“The best gift our players can give the seniors is to win a game and get them closer to our goal of playing in the postseason tournament,” Fennelly said.

The last time Nebraska visited Hilton resulted in a 79-57 win for Iowa State that saw Medders go off for 31 points. Earlier this season, the Cornhuskers beat the Cyclones, 62-49, in Lincoln, Neb., while Medders was forced to sit out with a minor concussion.

Following the game, the three seniors will give a speech to their fellow teammates, coaches and fans. Ronhovde said one thing she realized as she wrote her speech was how many fond memories she has of playing inside Hilton Coliseum.

“I think it’s a little overwhelming trying to put all your thoughts together of the four years you’ve played here, and the memories you have with your teammates and coaches,” Ronhovde said.