The ISU women’s basketball team will face its stiffest competition of the season Wednesday as the No. 2 Texas Tech Lady Raiders roll into Hilton Coliseum.

Texas Tech enters the game at 15-0 (1-0 Big 12). The Lady Raiders have been outscoring opponents by a margin of 31.6 points per game and hold a 13.7 rebounds-per-game advantage.

ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said Texas Tech has many strengths, highlighted by its depth, which allows the team to showcase various lineups.

“Like all good teams, they really defend well at all five spots and they rebound the ball,” Fennelly said. “Another thing they’ve shown this year over most good teams is that they’re very, very deep.”

Fennelly said this versatility makes it hard for the Cyclones to prepare, because they don’t know which five players they’re going to see.

“I think as much as any team in the country they can come at you with whatever style they need to,” Fennelly said. “They can come small, quick, and they can go big.

“They have a lot of interchangeable parts.”

Seniors Jia Perkins and Natalie Ritchie along with sophomore Erin Grant lead the Lady Raiders in their quest for a national championship.

“They have a lot of good senior players and some good youth mixed in there too,” Fennelly said. “Their ranking is well-deserved and they’re a team openly talking about winning a national championship. I don’t think there’s any reason to think they don’t have that kind of talent.”

The Cyclones head into the game 7-5 (0-1 Big 12) after losing at Nebraska in their conference opener. Fennelly said he hopes Iowa State can prove to be a challenge for the Lady Raiders, who have been uncontested throughout much of the season.

“They haven’t been challenged very often, they’re winning by 30 points a game, so we have to find a way to hang around and keep our crowd in the game,” Fennelly said. “Hopefully we’ll be around in the second half with a chance to win.”

Fennelly said one advantage Iowa State has is that Texas Tech hasn’t played a lot of road games.

But the Cyclones will need a lot of other things to fall their way to have a chance at winning.

“Like any good team, they’re due to have an off night,” Fennelly said. “We need them to have an off night and we need to come out and make some shots. When you play a great team you have to play well, and they’ve got to help you a bit.”

Fennelly said he hopes the shooting touch of the 10-2 Cyclone men’s basketball team wears off on the women in front of the friendly crowd.

“The way the guys have been shooting the ball here, I hope they left some for us,” Fennelly said.

“We have to make some shots, hit some threes and try to get to the free throw line a bit.”

Fennelly said other keys to an ISU victory are limiting easy baskets and free throws and defending against Texas Tech’s inbounds plays and fast breaks.

“We need to shoot a great field-goal percentage and limit the times we turn the ball over in the open court, because if you turn [the ball] over in the open court it’s a lay-up,” Fennelly said. “Against a team like [Texas Tech] you don’t want your offense to create their offense. The last thing you can do is give good teams easy baskets.”