The ISU women’s basketball team is well aware of who its opponent will be tonight.

It’s well aware of what will be on the line, too, when the 6-2 Iowa Hawkeyes visit Hilton Coliseum.

The No. 5 Cyclones own a four-game winning streak over their intrastate rivals, and they have a 22-game home court win streak, fourth longest in the nation.

Iowa State is also a perfect 6-0 on the season and hasn’t lost a nonconference home game under head coach Bill Fennelly (34-0).

But most importantly, pride will be the winner’s trophy when the Cyclones and Hawkeyes hook up on the hardwood.

“I think it’s more of a pride thing when you play a game like this,” ISU center Angie Welle said. “It’s all about pride, not necessarily who’s gonna win. It’s just about playing for your school.”

Welle, who hails from Fargo, N.D., has learned that at Iowa State if there’s one team that everyone wants you to beat, it’s Iowa.

ISU point guard Lindsey Wilson, from Seattle, Wash., has also taken the crash course in Hawkeye hating.

“You pretty much step on campus and you start hating Iowa,” said Wilson, who came to Iowa State in 1999. “You go to the football game, men’s basketball game . pretty much any sport if it’s against Iowa, it’s big.”

Fennelly has another theory: “You learn if you’re a Cyclone, you’re not enamored with the Hawkeyes. They probably go through that at orientation.”

The Cyclones have other rivals; being one of the top women’s basketball teams in the nation will cause that.

Big 12 teams Oklahoma and Kansas bring their A-game when they play Iowa State. In-state rival Drake is another, but no game packs the same emotion of Iowa State-Iowa.

“In the Big 12, we have certain rivals. Those are kind of our own rivals,” Wilson said. “This is the whole school, the whole state.”

The fans also pay attention when the Hawkeyes are in town.

“There’s probably people coming out that have never been to a women’s basketball game before,” Welle said, “but they hate Iowa, so they’re gonna come.”

Freshman Lisa Kriener has a different angle to this rivalry. Recruited from St. Ansgar, Kriener has followed the Cyclone-Hawkeye rivalry for some time.

“I think to me, it means a little bit more, if you’re from Iowa and it’s the Iowa-Iowa State game,” she said.

Kriener said that now her town has a Cyclone following, but it wasn’t always that way. Former Hawkeye quarterback Matt Sherman (1994-97) was from St. Ansgar and many people followed his career at Iowa.

“Now it seems like everyone is following me,” Kriener said. “There’s all these Cyclone fans, and there’s probably gonna be 20 people here tomorrow from St. Ansgar. Our town is really supportive.”

Kriener will likely see plenty of action, providing backup in the post for All-American Welle.

Last season, it was Welle who was ultimately responsible for Iowa’s demise in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

She was good on 12 of her 13 shots as she dropped 27 points on Iowa en route to a 86-76 Cyclone win.

Welle also grabbed 15 rebounds.

With the emergence of Wilson at point guard, more attention will likely be paid to her this year.

“I think the key to Iowa State’s success is Lindsey Wilson,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “When you look at her numbers, they are pretty amazing, and she has good control and always comes up with a shot when they need it.”

Twice this year, Wilson has lifted the Cyclones to a win.

She nailed the game-winning shot with four seconds left to turn back Creighton 75-74 in overtime on Nov. 27.

Saturday against Northwestern, Wilson hit six straight free throws to hold off a Wildcat rally, 71-61.

Wilson is averaging a team-high 21.8 points and 7.3 assists per game. She has scored 20 or more points five times this season.

“Lindsey has done an awesome job penetrating,” said ISU forward Tracy Gahan, who scored 26 points and grabbed 14 boards last year against Iowa. “People are gonna have to help out on her too. Hopefully when Angie gets doubled, whoever is playing on the outside will be able to knock down the shot.”

Iowa State, which struggled in its last win, hopes that being at home for the first time since Nov. 23 will provide a spark.

“We can’t just show up and play against anybody, we’ve gotta learn that quick,” Wilson said. “At the same time, we’ve got to move on.

“We’re gonna be ready for Iowa, I don’t think that’s a question.”

The game starts at 7 p.m.

“We’ve kind of waited our turn after watching the men’s game, wrestling meet and football,” Fennelly said. “It’s our turn now.”