With only five conference games remaining before the Big 12 tournament in Dallas, the ISU women’s basketball team is hoping to make a push to finish in the middle of the conference pack.

Iowa State (11-11, 4-7 Big 12) can start in Lawrence, Kan., Tuesday when the Cyclones take on the Jayhawks.

Kansas (9-13, 2-9) is coming off a season in which it has suffered suspensions and head coach Marian Washington taking a medical leave of absence Jan 29.

ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said the Jayhawks are still capable of making a late push in the conference standings.

“Anytime a team goes through some changes during a season, whether its injuries, coaching or whatever, you don’t know what to expect,” Fennelly said.

“There are times when you have everything lined up right and you play really well, [and] there’s some times when all that adversity kind of takes a toll on you.”

Senior guard Erica Junod said Kansas is a good team, despite the Jayhawks’ record.

“They have great players, very good athletes and they always play well against us,” Junod said. “We have to be fundamental and play hard to be successful.”

Iowa State won both regular-season games last year against the Jayhawks. In the two teams’ first meeting at Hilton Coliseum, former Cyclone Lindsey Wilson sank two free throws in the last seconds to lift the Cyclones to a 72-70 win.

The Cyclones easily won the second match-up 69-44. Junod tallied 11 points in the contest.

But just six days later, at the Big 12 Tournament in Dallas, Kansas beat the Cyclones 63-60, ending Iowa State’s season.

Kansas comes into the game on a four-game conference losing streak. Crystal Kemp leads Kansas in scoring with 13.3 points per game and Aquanita Burras is second in scoring, averaging 10.5.

Fennelly said the game will be a physical matchup.

“They’re always athletic,” Fennelly said. “All the kids that played a lot last year are playing again this year. They’re a team that has some young players that have played a lot. It’s always kind of an ugly game.”

Junod said Saturday’s win against Baylor lifted the Cyclones’ spirits for the stretch run before the conference tournament.

“The win against Baylor was huge for us,” Junod said.

” It gives us a lot of hope and belief [to know] that, [when] we were down by 10 at a certain point, [we could] come back. I think it shows what happens when you play hard and together.”