The ISU women’s basketball team doesn’t want to be back in Ames before spring break.

At last year’s Big 12 Tournament, the Cyclones played the Kansas Jayhawks in the first round and dropped a 63-60 Tuesday decision, ending their season.

“[The tournament] was not fun last year; going there and getting beat in the first round and going home before most of the teams got there,” ISU junior Lisa Kriener said.

“I don’t want to go through that again, and I know our whole team does not want to go through that again. We want to be a champion. We want to go down there and play for everything. Why not?”

Iowa State will face Nebraska at noon Tuesday in the first round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament, held at Reunion Arena in Dallas. The Cyclones are the No. 9 seed, and the Cornhuskers are the No. 8 seed. Iowa State’s seed is its lowest since the beginning of the Big 12 Conference.

Iowa State and Nebraska met each other two times in the regular season with both teams winning in their home arena. The Huskers beat the Cyclones 62-57 on Jan. 10, and Iowa State topped Nebraska 77-66 on Feb. 21.

“Obviously, we split with them this year, and I think that any team we play down there is going to be on their top game. This is the Big 12 Tournament; this is one of the most elite conferences in the nation,” ISU senior Erica Junod said. “We have to be on our top game as well; you just go in there to play to live another day.”

Kriener said the main difference between the two games was Iowa State’s inside game.

“The first time [we met], we didn’t play that well,” Kriener said. “The last game when we played them [at Hilton Coliseum], I think we did develop a good inside presence, and that does make a difference. When you have an inside-outside game, it’s hard to beat a lot of teams and that’s what we’re going to have to do.”

Nebraska has five players averaging double-digit points per game and is led by seniors Alexa Johnson and Keasha Cannon-Johnson. Johnson averages 12.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while Cannon-Johnson averages 11.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

“[Nebraska is a] team that is very senior-dominated, and I’m sure they don’t want their season to end,” ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said.

Fennelly said Nebraska is a team on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament and is going to come at Iowa State with everything it has.

“I think the main things we’ll be concerned with [playing] Nebraska are that they’re a very good on-ball defensive team and [they’re] very aggressive and a good offensive rebounding team, especially their guards,” Fennelly said.

Fennelly said he doesn’t think either team has a great advantage, leading to an evenly matched contest.

Iowa State ended the regular season with a 79-57 victory over Kansas Thursday. Junod said finishing with a victory was vital for the Cyclones.

“[The win over Kansas was] tremendously important going to the Big 12 Tournament [because we enter] with some momentum,” Junod said.

Iowa State has won enough games to qualify for a post-season tournament appearance in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, but the Cyclones will probably have to win the Big 12 Tournament in order gain a bid into the NCAA Tournament. The first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament will be held at Hilton Coliseum on March 21 and 23.

“We still know the NCAA Tournament’s right here in our house,” Junod said. “It’s been our goal all year long to play here in March.”

History is in Iowa State’s favor; the Cyclones have the most wins and, at 70.6, the best winning percentage in Big 12 Tournament games with 12 wins and five losses.

“This is a great opportunity for us,” Kriener said. “We’re going to go down there thinking like champions. We’re going to go down there and expect to be there the whole week.”