Recovery for the Iowa State women’s basketball team will have to be rapid and complete.

After dropping a heartbreaker to the Drake Bulldogs Wednesday night, the Cyclones have just two days to prepare for their home court showdown with the rival Iowa Hawkeyes.

“We’ve got to bounce back quickly,” head coach Bill Fennelly said. “We don’t have much time to feel sorry for ourselves.”

The Cyclones are favored in the matchup, but players and coaches alike realize just how little pregame rankings mean to this rivalry.

Fennelly pointed to the Hawkeyes’ physical play and dominant inside game as a pair of factors for the game.

“They’re a very physical team, and they seem to be very defensive-minded,” he said. “They also have a pair of very active post players in Randi Peterson and Jerica Watson.”

Watson has led the Hawks this year with nine rebounds, and the team has averaged over eight boards per game more than their opponents.

Peterson has averaged 6.8 rebounds per contest so far, and the duo has combined for just over 15 points a game.

But, for Iowa, the tough play isn’t limited to the post.

“[Cara] Consuegra’s a great, physical defensive leader out there,” Fennelly said, “and I’m sure she’ll be guarding Stacy [Frese].”

After recalling last year’s game, in which she was injured by the suffocating defensive play of the Hawkeyes, Frese had to concur.

“I’m sure it’s going to be physical out there,” she said. “Consuegra plays really hard.”

The Iowa point guard is averaging just over 10 points and four assists per game.

Offensively, the Hawkeyes are led by the play of shooting guard Lindsey Meder.

“On offense, Meder’s been the go-to player,” Fennelly said. “They seem to have a number of weapons, but she’s been the most consistent offensive threat.”

Meder has averaged 18.8 points per game so far and seems to be the only legitimate three-point threat on the Hawkeye roster.

Sophomore forward Leah Magner rounds out the Iowa starting lineup, with Beatrice Bullock and Patrice Jennings representing the first two players off the bench. This year the trio has combined for 13.4 points and 10.7 caroms per contest.

The Cyclones will have to overcome a pair of early season losses to unranked opponents at Stanford and Drake if they don’t want a repeat performance Saturday.

“Good teams show you what weaknesses you have, and that’s what happened against Stanford and Drake,” Fennelly said. “In each case, there was a player on the other team that stepped up and went above and beyond what they usually do.”

The Cyclones will have shore up their defense and prepare for the presence of another Bethany Donaphin [Stanford] or Carla Bennett [Drake].

A big part of that preparation will also have to take place in the low post.

“Being a little more proactive than reactive in the post is the key,” Fennelly said.

Besides stronger defensive play down low, Fennelly said he’ll also be looking for increased offensive output from guards Tracy Gahan and Erica Haugen.

One player he won’t be changing anything with is Megan Taylor. Despite low-percentage shooting of late, Fennelly is not concerned.

“Megan Taylor isn’t even an issue with me,” Fennelly said. “She plays too hard and has done too much for this program for me to make it an issue.”

The junior may have picked the perfect weekend to break out of her slump, however.

After securing her first career double-double against the Hawks as a freshman, Taylor exploded for 25 points and 14 rebounds in leading ISU to an 81-65 win in Iowa City last season.

All said, the Cyclones may be the better team, but the road this weekend will not be an easy one.

“They’ve had a week to prepare,” Fennelly said. “They’re going to defend, they’re going to control the tempo of the game and they’re not going to beat themselves.

“It’s kind of a ‘king of the hill’ mentality out there,” he said. “It’s really hard to get good at something, but it’s a hell of a lot harder to stay good. And that’s what we’re dealing with now.”