Anne O’Neil, Katie Robinette, Mary Fox, Lisa Kriener and Tracy Paustian are returning from a road trip for the last time in a Cyclone uniform.

“It’s an emotional thing to think about,” said sophomore guard Lyndsey Medders. “I don’t know if people can tell, but some of these seniors are the best friends I’ve ever had in my life.

“It’s not just from a basketball sense that I’m losing some great teammates, but I’m losing some of my best friends.”

Before the team members part ways, however, there is still business to be taken care of.

The five seniors begin their final home stand for the Cyclones at 2 p.m. Saturday, when Texas A&M comes to Hilton Coliseum.

Iowa State is still vying for a first-round bye in the Big 12 tournament, and is in a tie for fourth place with Kansas State. The top four teams in the conference receive byes.

“I think we’re pretty set on that we’re probably going to get that fifth seed,” Medders said. “There’s a good and a bad to it. You get an extra game of experience, but then again, you don’t get to save your legs.”

ISU coach Bill Fennelly has experienced both sides of the first-round bye situation, and said one isn’t necessarily better than the other.

“On one hand, I think it would be good if we play,” he said. “Get the jitters out of the way; just go play. They’d rather play than practice.”

Before the tournament, Iowa State has two home games. Texas A&M (14-11, 4-10 Big 12) brings a 2-6 road record into Saturday’s contest, and is sitting at ninth place in the Big 12.

They are led by three-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week Morenike Atunrase who is scoring 10.7 points per game. Despite standing only 5 feet 10 inches, she is second on the team in rebounding, grabbing 5.3 per game.

Fennelly said it’s difficult to guess who will score for the Aggies, however, as seven different players have led the team in scoring over the season.

“They’re hard to guard because they have like seven kids that average between seven and 10 points,” Fennelly said. “They create some match-up problems for us.

“They’ve played a lot of freshmen this year that are now not freshmen, really. I mean, they’ve played all year.”

Even after Atunrase, the Aggies have six players who average more than six points per game. A&M’s depth may be a problem for the Cyclones, as they play only eight people for extended minutes.

The Cyclones have been able to overcome most of the problems they have faced, but Fennelly said they will face a full-court defense from A&M — one they haven’t seen yet this year.

Gaining some momentum towards the postseason would be a big boost, Medders said, and winning its last two games would give Iowa State 22 wins on the season, the most regular season wins since the 2000-01 team.

“There’s a lot to play for,” Fennelly said. “We talked a lot the last couple days about that they’ve done a great job all year, but it won’t mean quite as much if they don’t finish.”