The ISU women’s basketball team will conclude a two-game road trip at 7 p.m. Wednesday when it faces much improved Kansas in Lawrence.

Kansas will try to break the Cyclone’s nine-game win streak and get its first win against a conference opponent. The Jayhawks are 7-6 overall and 0-2 in the Big 12 following a road loss to No. 12 Texas and a home loss to No. 23 Kansas State.

Iowa State (12-1, 2-0) will be the third straight ranked opponent Kansas has faced. The Cyclones are No. 24 in both the AP and coaches poll.

The Jayhawks are led by 6-foot-2 junior Crystal Kemp, who is averaging 15.5 points and 8.3 rebounds a game. Senior forward Katie Robinette will be burdened with the task of guarding her.

“They’re pretty athletic, and we’re going to concentrate on their post play,” Robinette said. “They really only have one post player, and we’re going to just bang it inside.”

Three other Jayhawks are also averaging double figures in points. Junior Erica Hallman and senior Aquanita Burras are posting 12.5 and 10.3 points per game, respectively.

The Cyclones have their own three-headed monster with Anne O’Neil at 17.8, Robinette with 14.6 and Megan Ronhovde with 11.1 points per game. O’Neil has been red-hot in the last six games, averaging 22.7 points and grabbing 8.5 rebounds per game. The 5-11 guard is the team’s leading rebounder.

Iowa State will also have to deal with Bonnie Henrickson, the new Jayhawk coach. The Cyclones have some prior experience with Henrickson, as her Virginia Tech team beat Iowa State last year in the Paradise Jam Tournament at the U.S. Virgin Islands. Coincidentally, Virginia Tech was ranked 24th in the nation for that week.

Henrickson was also an assistant coach at Iowa from 1995-97.

“Kansas has a new coach who’s done a great job there, we played against her at Virginia Tech last year,” Fennelly said. “They’re going to massage the tempo. It’s going to be a physical, low scoring game.

“They’re a different team than the past, much more fundamental.”

The Cyclones’ 2-0 conference start is their fastest since the 2000-01 season, when they started 5-0 before losing to at Baylor. This time, Iowa State plays its first six games against Big 12 North teams before traveling to Oklahoma on Jan. 29.

“We’ve kind of divided the race up into the Big 12 North and South,” Robinette said. “Our goal is definitely to win the Big 12 North.”

“We’re 2-0. We’re not 12-1, we’re 2-0 in the Big 12 North,” Fennelly added.

The biggest task this week may be to avoid the pressure of being a ranked team on the road.

Playing a ranked opponent often gives the home team, a little extra motivation. However, Fennelly isn’t worried about any added pressure.

He said that his seniors are mature enough to play hard while not getting overconfident with their ranking.

“I’m not saying we’re going to win, but there won’t be a letdown. If we go to Kansas and lose, it’s probably because we got beat by a team that was either better prepared or worked harder,” said Fennelly.

The Cyclones return home Saturday with a match against the Missouri Tigers. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.