ISU women’s basketball head coach Bill Fennelly is one win away from picking up career victory No. 350. If the Cyclones continue their hot streak at Hilton Coliseum, that win could come as early as Sunday, when Iowa State takes on the No. 14 Colorado Buffaloes.

Colorado is the last of four consecutive Big 12 opponents Iowa State has played that are nationally ranked.

The Cyclones are 2-1 during the stretch after upsetting No. 2 Texas Tech 64-63 on Jan. 14 and No. 15 Oklahoma 69-51 Tuesday at home. Iowa State dropped a 67-45 decision at No. 3 Texas last Saturday.

ISU freshman guard Lyndsey Medders entered the Cyclones’ previous game against Oklahoma averaging 8.8 points per game.

Medders broke out against the Sooners scoring 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-4 behind the 3-point arc, leading Iowa State to the win.

“Lyndsey’s obviously struggled a bit with her tonsillitis and with the normal ups and downs of freshman basketball,” Fennelly said. “She had a huge game [against Oklahoma] and has really done a great job lately in practice getting better and learning every day what it takes to be a great player at this level. It was a really good effort and I hope she can build on it.”

After a 70-58 victory over Texas A&M, Colorado enters the game 15-2 (4-1 Big 12). The Buffaloes boast senior Tera Bjorklund, who is currently in third place on the Colorado all-time scoring list.

The Buffaloes’ inside play is anchored by 6-foot-5 Bjorklund, who Fennelly said may be one of the best centers in the country. But she’s not the only one who could hurt the Cyclones. Fennelly said Colorado’s senior leadership and basic overall play is key for the Buffaloes.

“[Colorado] runs a very complicated offense which is hard to defend and simulate in practice,” Fennelly said. “They’re your classic good inside, good outside team.”

The Buffaloes sport a freshmen guard dynamic duo in Big 12 Rookie of the Week Emily Waner and Leslie Howard. The pair has been on fire from 3-point land, with Waner shooting 49.3 percent and Howard connecting on 56.3 percent of her 3-point shots.

“They have two great 3-point shooters, and they have kids who can slash and get to the rim in other ways,” Fennelly said. “They’re always a solid half-court defensive team and that’s part of the reason they’re 15-2.”

Medders said the Cyclones will trust in the ISU coaching staff to develop a defensive strategy to stop the Buffaloes.

“Our coaches will do a good job of finding where to attack and what to do,” Medders said. “The game plans for the last couple of games have been working extremely well.”

One area Iowa State will try to improve in is rebounding, which has plagued the Cyclones of late. Iowa State held a one-rebound advantage over Oklahoma after being outrebounded by 29 against Texas.

“Rebounding is a big thing. It’s not just post players at this point, it’s everyone,” Medders said.

During the nonconference part of the season, junior Lisa Kriener was averaging 10.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Since beginning the Big 12 season,

Kriener is averaging 7.3 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-2 forward has not collected a rebound in her last three games.

Fennelly said in recent victories, two or three players have stepped up and played well, but the Cyclones need more contribution from their top nine players to continue their success.