ISU women’s basketball team may get as good a shot at the Texas Longhorns as any team will get on Wednesday night.

Texas (6-6, 0-2 Big 12) returns to Austin for its conference home opener after falling to Kansas and Baylor on the road. The Cyclones (10-3, 1-1) have split their first two Big 12 games, falling to Oklahoma in Ames before beating Oklahoma State on the road.

Texas’ .500 record can be partly attributed to having the second hardest schedule in the nation.

“I think they’re very, very angry and very, very motivated, and we’re going to get their best shot,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “For them to be 0-2 in the league, and having a home game – with Missouri coming in Saturday – I bet they feel like, for them, to get back in the race they need two wins.

“No one’s in a good mood there.”

The Longhorns are led by junior Tiffany Jackson, who averages 14.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Freshman Erika Arriaran chips in 11.3 points and nearly four rebounds per game.

“Texas is a great team,” said junior Megan Ronhovde. “They’re in a position where it’s a must-win game for them, but it’s also a must-win game for us.”

Senior Brittany Wilkins agreed with her teammate.

“We’re desperate for any win we can get,” she said. “I think coach’s scouting report is great, I just need to pay closer attention to details.”

Iowa State has lost all three of its games to ranked opponents, falling to No. 17 Minnesota, No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 25 North Carolina State.

“Our three losses are to three great teams,” Wilkins said. “I think we’ve learned something different from each one of those.”

The Cyclones are preparing for what they expect to be a hungry Texas team, and are not paying much attention to their record.

“We’re going to have to play at a very high level to compete because I know we’re going to get their best shot,” Fennelly said. “A lot of teams play better when people count them out and they’re underdogs.”