Winning basketball games is about putting the ball in the basket.

It sounds so simple — but tell it to the ISU women’s basketball team.

The Cyclones (10-10, 3-6 Big 12) dropped conference games last week against Kansas State and Missouri, shooting 28.6 percent and 33.3 percent from the field, respectively. Both games were at Hilton Coliseum.

As the team travels to No. 12 Colorado Wednesday, head coach Bill Fennelly said games like that can’t happen.

“In the six games we’ve lost in the conference, we are shooting about 33 percent from the field and 22 percent from the 3-point line,” Fennelly said. “[In] the games we won, we shot the ball just under 50 percent [from the floor].”

The lack of scoring from the Cyclones is the result of players not sinking open shots, said freshman guard Lyndsey Medders.

“The big thing is that we need to have people step up and make big shots,” Medders said. “We have good plays; the coaches can’t do anything more for us. … We’re getting a lot of open looks.”

“We just tell them to keep shooting it. We are spreading the shots out, trying to find someone that can get a hot hand,” Fennelly said. “Hopefully, we get a game where it is contagious to make them and not just contagious to miss them.”

The last time these two teams met, Jan. 25 at Hilton Coliseum, the Buffaloes outlasted the Cyclones 62-51 and forced Iowa State into 21 turnovers.

“We had 21 turnovers in that game, and obviously when you’re struggling to score against a good team, 21 turnovers is not a way to create offense for yourself,” Fennelly said.

“All it does is create offense for them.”

Colorado is coming off a 79-53 loss to No. 9 Kansas State and will face No. 1 Texas Saturday, three days after playing Iowa State.

“Our team will be ready to go; we weren’t happy Sunday evening [against Kansas State]. So I don’t think there’s a chance of us feeling full of ourselves.” Colorado head coach Ceal Barry said during Tuesday’s weekly Big 12 teleconference. “We’re in a race and we’re in a difficult conference; we totally respect Iowa State.”

Colorado has dominated offensively this year, outscoring its opponents by an average of 12 points per game. The scoring attack of the Buffaloes (18-3, 7-2) is led by Tera Bjorklund’s 19.9 points per game.

Defensively, the Buffaloes are just as tough, Fennelly said.

“Sometimes you have to attack pressure defense by attacking with your offense,” Fennelly said. “They did a good job of putting us on our heels. When we did have good looks, we couldn’t make them.”