When playing a ranked team on the road without your senior point guard, success can be hard to come by.

Such was the lesson learned by the Cyclones (16-6, 4-5 Big 12) in the absence of guard Lyndsey Medders on Wednesday night. After suffering from concussion-like symptoms because of a collision with forward Genesis Lightbourne in the afternoon shootaround, Medders was held out of Wednesday’s 62-49 loss to No. 22 Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb.

Coach Bill Fennelly said it is questionable as to whether Medders will be able to play Sunday. She is Iowa State’s leading scorer at 12.7 points per game, while also ranking fifth in the nation in assists at 6.4 per game. Fennelly said she will sit out of practice on Friday, and the question of her playing will more than likely be a game-time decision.

Assistant coach Jodi Steyer said there is no doubt losing Medders caused some offensive struggles against the Cornhuskers.

“When you have your best player gone, it has a huge impact on the game,” Steyer said.

Sophomore Heather Ezell and freshman Alison Lacey handled most of the point guard duties against Nebraska but couldn’t seem to get the offense going. Steyer said it was evident the Huskers pressed more and applied more ball pressure because Medders was not in the game.

“She’s been [our point guard] for four years, and she has a huge impact on our offense,” Steyer said.

With or without Medders, the show must go on. The Cyclones hope to regroup as they host the Missouri Tigers (14-7, 2-6 Big 12) on Sunday at Hilton Coliseum. Missouri won the first matchup between the two teams, beating the Cyclones 66-56 on Jan. 6 in Columbia, Mo.

Coach Fennelly said he has stressed to his players the importance of not losing consecutive conference games over the past few weeks. After the loss at Nebraska, Iowa State needs a victory to pull back to .500 and stay afloat in the Big 12.

“Coming off a loss, you ought to be more motivated, more determined to get the bad taste out of your mouth,” Fennelly said. “The balance of our league is very evident – [there are] very few blowouts.”

Missouri comes into the game after losing a one-point thriller, 71-70, to No. 13 Baylor on Wednesday night. The Tigers currently sit in next-to-last place in the Big 12, ahead of only Kansas, who is winless in conference play.

The Cyclones are in seventh place in the Big 12, and as they begin the February portion of their schedule, Fennelly said he hopes his team shows the desire to make the NCAA tournament.

“There’s no magic number in terms of getting in or not getting in [to the tournament],” Fennelly said. “It’s February 1, and we have a chance. That’s a good thing.”

He added that in the Big 12, 10 teams have a reasonable shot at making the tournament out of what continues to prove to be a deep conference in women’s basketball.

“February is the month where everyone gets separated [in the Big 12],” Fennelly said. “Now is the time we find out how mentally tough we are.”