It will be a tough task at hand for the ISU women’s basketball team as they try to equal the Cyclones’ best start ever.

If Iowa State beats the Nebraska Cornhuskers at 2 p.m. Saturday, it would move the Cyclones to 15-1, matching the 2000-01 squad’s beginning, which was the best ever women’s basketball starting season at Iowa State.

All of Nebraska’s last three games have been against ranked opponents, of which they have won only one. Iowa State (14-1 overall, 4-0 in the Big 12) will enter the game as the No. 19 team in the nation.

The Huskers (11-6, 3-2) beat then No. 2 ranked Baylor 103-99 in triple overtime on Jan. 12, but in their next contest Jan. 15, fell 74-59 to Kansas State, ranked No. 23 at the time. Most recently on Wednesday, Nebraska lost a hard-fought decision against No. 10 Texas Tech, 68-58.

ISU women’s basketball head coach Bill Fennelly said the game against Nebraska is critical for the Cyclones. After their clash with the Huskers, six of Iowa State’s next nine games are on the road, including trips to No. 4 Baylor, No. 10 Texas Tech, No. 20 Kansas State and another matchup with Nebraska.

“There’s nothing worse than losing to someone and then knowing we have to go back to their building later in the year,” Fennelly said.

“If we can beat Nebraska, then no one in our league can sweep us. If that’s the case, you have a chance to put together a pretty good record.”

Iowa State boasts two players from the Cornhusker state, with Katie Robinette and Brittany Wilkins both hailing from Nebraska.

Robinette was 2001 Miss Nebraska Basketball after a standout prep career at South Sioux City High School.

She played basketball at Nebraska during her freshman year of college, where she was voted preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year by the league’s coaches. Robinette was second on the team in scoring and rebounding.

She transferred to Iowa State after her freshman season and said most of her ties to the university are gone.

“[Guard] Jina Johansen was my roommate freshman year,” Robinette said.

“She’s the only person left I know. It’s new coaches and new players, so I’m not really familiar with any of them.”

Robinette said going against her former school is just like any other game in the Big 12 and she doesn’t feel more pressure heading into the contest.

“Maybe if the game was there [it’d be different] just because there would be old Nebraska fans there who have watched me play, but since it’s here, I don’t really feel that pressure,” she said.

Robinette said part of the Cyclones’ success during their 11-game winning streak is that they recognize there’s still work to be done.

“We’ve been communicating really well and we don’t let it go to our heads. We realize that we do need to get better even though we’ve done well so far,” she said.

At the beginning of the season Fennelly said he thought his team had a chance to be “pretty good,” but he said he couldn’t have predicted their record.

“I don’t think anyone anticipated 14-1,” he said. “But the challenge is to enjoy where we are now, to try and get a little better and not have the highlight of our season to be in mid-January, but hopefully in March.”