For the ISU women’s basketball team, three is the magic number.

The Cyclones will be going after their third consecutive win over Colorado this season in the first round of the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament beginning Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo.

Iowa State (22-5, 12-4) earned the No. 5 seed in the tournament after winning its final three games of the season.

“It’s very hard to beat a team three times in one season,” said senior guard Mary Fox. “Colorado is going to be ready for us. They’re going to be trying to do everything they can to stay in [the tournament].”

The season of tournaments, buzzer beaters and upsets has begun, and ISU coach Bill Fennelly is anxious to get out on the court.

“March is the most exciting time of the year if you’re a basketball fan, player or coach,” Fennelly said.

After 22 years at the helm for the Buffaloes (9-18, 2-14), Ceal Barry announced in late February she will end her run as the Colorado head coach.

With no postseason looming for the Buffaloes, senior Lisa Kriener said she expects Colorado to be playing with a sense of urgency.

“When you’ve played for four years — or even a year — for a coach, you have a lot of respect for the coach and the work they’ve put in,” Kriener said. “I think they’re definitely going to be playing harder for that reason.”

On Jan. 8, Iowa State beat Colorado for the first time since 2002. The Cyclones had five players score in the double-digits en route to their 76-64 victory. First team All-Big 12 member Anne O’Neil paced the squad with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Less than a month later, on Feb. 2 in Ames, Iowa State crushed Colorado 103-76. O’Neil once again led the Cyclones, just missing a triple-double with 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Sophomore Megan Ronhovde scored a career-high 24 points, shooting 6-of-6 from beyond the arc.

The top-four seeded teams earned a bye in the first round of the conference, which Iowa State narrowly missed, but Kriener said there are positives to missing the bye.

“We have an advantage of being there a day early and playing and getting the nerves out,” she said. “We’re all very excited. We have an opportunity lying in front of us right now. We need to go there and have a great time and soak it up.”

After two seasons in Dallas, the Big 12 Tournament will return to Kansas City, a place the Cyclones are all too familiar with.

Iowa State is 12-4 in Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium and won two Big 12 Tournament titles there, in 2000 and 2001.

Only a small portion of the squad has experienced “Hilton South,” and Fox said the Cyclone-friendly environment left quite the impression on her during her freshman year.

“I can honestly say I don’t remember the games,” Fox said. “What I remember the most is the fans and the band playing right when we got off the bus and when we got to the hotel. That’s what sticks out most in my mind when I think about Kansas City.”