In what seemed like a good idea at the time, the ISU women’s basketball team tried a shortcut for its trip to Kansas last season. The team normally departs from Des Moines International Airport for road games, but head coach Bill Fennelly decided to fly out of Ames this time.

They ended up in Des Moines anyway.

After taking off late because of a problem with the plane’s radio, the plane made an emergency landing in Des Moines. The team decided to call it quits on flying, and they waited another hour or so for a bus to drive them to Lawrence, Kan.

When the women head to Kansas Wednesday for this season’s matchup in Lawrence, they will be staying on the ground.

“We were trying to be tricky and make the trip shorter,” Fennelly said. “It’s not a coincidence [this time]. We’re busing it for a reason. Last year I tried to come up with all these great ideas and it was total catch-fire from the beginning to the end. The only good thing was we won the game.”

In a 72-70 victory over the Jayhawks earlier this season, guard Lindsey Wilson made two free throws in the final seconds to give Iowa State a win in its Big 12 home opener. Junior Erica Junod stole the Kansas inbounds pass and was fouled, guaranteeing the ISU victory.

Seniors Wilson and Mary Cofield each scored 16 points to lead the Cyclones. Cofield was deadly from outside, connecting on 4 of 7 from downtown.

The team also got double-figure scoring from sophomores Lisa Kriener and Anne O’Neil, who scored 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Fennelly said his team was lucky to get the win because of its poor rebounding performance. The Cyclones lost the battle on the boards 43-24.

“We were minus-19 in rebounding, so we caught a break there,” he said. “You don’t usually beat a team like that, but we made some shots in that game. We made 11 three-point shots, so that kind of overcame the rebounding deficiency.”

Fennelly also thinks the game will have a different dynamic, as the two teams met in early January, when both teams were just kicking off the Big 12 season.

“We’re a different team. That was the second game of the conference season, this is the 16th. They’re different, we’re different,” he said. “We’re both trying to finish on a positive note.”

Wilson said the main focus will be on crashing the boards.

“Rebounding will be big. We’ve got to commit to it — last time was ridiculous,” she said. “They’re a very athletic team. They’ve got a little bit of height, but not overwhelming. We’ve just got to pay more attention to it.”

The game will be Iowa State’s final regular -season contest. They head to Dallas next week for the Big 12 tournament.

Fennelly said he is trying to get his team into the tournament mode now, as they may see the Jayhawks in the first round.

“We need to look at Wednesday as a tournament game. Let’s get that mindset,” he said. “We’re not playing at home anymore, let’s go on the road and do it.”