Coming off what coach Bill Fennelly dubbed the “best game we’ve played all year” in a 75-48 win over Kansas, the ISU women’s basketball team takes on its biggest challenge to date as they travel to play the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners (16-1, 6-0 Big 12) in Norman, Okla. on Wednesday night.

The Cyclones (15-4, 3-3 Big 12) are riding a two-game win streak and have pulled back to .500 in Big 12 play.

The Sooners, whose only loss this year was to No. 5 Ohio State, have won seven straight games and 25 straight contests against Big 12 opponents dating back to 2005. Oklahoma most recently played host to Texas Tech on Monday night, winning an 86-81 thriller in double overtime.

The Sooners average 22 more points and 16 more rebounds per game than their opponents, and a big reason for those numbers is the Sooners’ duo of twin sophomores, Courtney and Ashley Paris.

Courtney enters the game ranked third in the nation in scoring at 23.1 points per game and second in the nation with 15.6 rebounds per game. Ashley, who will likely come off the bench Wednesday, is averaging 7.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest.

Sophomore Nicky Wieben played against Courtney in the Cyclones’ 78-74 loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament last March, and was nothing but complimentary of the center.

“She’s an unbelievable athlete; she’s got a big presence inside,” Wieben said. “She runs the floor pretty well for her size and you’ve got to give her a lot of credit.”

Fennelly said that, as motivation for his post players, he is not going to sugarcoat anything about the matchup his players face with the 6-foot-4 Courtney Paris.

“The first line in the scouting report – in big bold letters – is ‘be ready to play the best post player in the country,'” Fennelly said. “You’re not going to shut her out; you’re not going to limit her. Our situation is to let her have an all-Big 12 game, not an all-American game.”

Courtney enters the game having recorded a double-double in 45 straight games, and was unanimously selected as a preseason all-American this year.

Fennelly said at one point last season, he showed Wieben and center Rachel Pierson a picture of the Paris sisters, making the comparison that the twins wear the same numbers – Courtney wears three and Ashley wears five – as do Pierson (3) and Wieben (5).

Fennelly said the biggest challenge Wieben and Pierson will face against the Paris sisters is trying to defend aggressively while staying out of foul trouble.

“There’s no way around the foul trouble because of the talent of Courtney Paris, but let’s see at the end of the day if our three and five can compete with their three and five,” Fennelly said. “[Wieben and Pierson] won’t back down from it-they’ll compete-and that’s all you can ask.”

Although Oklahoma poses a great challenge, Fennelly said his team is better than it was last year at this time.

He said he believes if his team executes and knocks down open shots, they can return to Ames with a monumental win.

“Sooner or later, they’re going to lose,” Fennelly said. “So why not us, why not now?”