The ISU women’s basketball team finally concluded one of the most brutal stretches in school history with Sunday’s loss to Colorado.

For four straight games, the Cyclones faced opponents ranked in the nation’s top 20.

Maintaining emotional stability is the one thing head coach Bill Fennelly said is crucial in having a successful run against top opponents.

“The challenge is to have consistency emotionally,” Fennelly said. “You can’t be high for one game and not play very well for the next one. Great teams manage to do that.”

Coming off two home upsets of then-No. 2 Texas Tech and then-No. 15 Oklahoma, the Cyclones couldn’t carry the momentum at home Sunday against No. 11 Colorado, falling 62-51.

Despite the loss, Fennelly said the two upset wins were an exciting time for the Cyclones.

“Any time you beat programs like [Texas Tech and Oklahoma], you’ve got to feel good about what you’re doing,” Fennelly said.

“The challenge is to harness that effort, that enthusiasm, that execution and try to do it more often that not.”

Offensive production and turnovers hindered the Cyclones chances in recent losses to Texas and Colorado. Fennelly said he hopes to see more made shots in order to challenge teams on the road, where they have struggled.

“We’ve got to find a way to score and do the little things on the road to win,” Fennelly said.

The Cyclones are 7-2 at home this season and 2-5 on the road.

Fennelly said it’s important for his Cyclones to win at home in order to be near the top of the Big 12 Conference.

“You better win six, seven or eight games at home,” Fennelly said.

“It’s so hard on the road in this league with the crowds and level of play in this league.”

As Iowa State struggles to stay alive in the Big 12, Fennelly said the team has already been on both ends of the big-win spectrum this season, and opposing teams prey on that.

“We’ve been ranked [in past years], and we knew that the other team sees playing you as a great opportunity to make a name for themselves,” Fennelly said. “Now we are that team trying to work our way back up.”