The Iowa State women’s basketball team will face its biggest game of the season when it faces off with the Lady Raiders of Texas Tech in Lubbock Wednesday night.

Tech comes into the contest with a record of 16-1 overall, including a perfect 5-0 mark in conference play.

The Lady Raiders, whose only loss of the season came to 11th- ranked Old Dominion, enter the game ranked sixth in the nation, while Iowa State carries a 14th ranking.

They are led by senior forward Angie Braziel, who averages 20.3 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game.

Also making key contributions to the squad are guard Rene Hanebutt, who averages 13.8 points per game, and forward Keitha Dickerson, who scores 10.4 points and pulls down 8.1 boards per game.

The Lady Raiders have been very tough at home, as they are 6-0 at home this year, and currently have a 14-game home winning streak.

They have a rich tradition under coach Marsha Sharpe, who is in her 17th year as head coach. They have made the post-season, had at least 20 wins in each of the last nine seasons and won the conference last year.

They won the national championship in 1993 behind the inspired play of Sheryl Swoopes, who went on to play in the WNBA.

Another pro that graduated a year ago was Alicia Thompson, who was the Big 12 Player of the Year after averaging 23 points per game.

Overall, the squad has won 14 consecutive games and 27 of its last 29 games. The team has averaged over 7,000 fans per game for five years in a row and expects close to a full house when the two Big 12 powers meet at Lubbock Municipal Coliseum, which has a capacity of 8,174.

A year ago, Tech came into Ames on a snowy, frigid night in January rated the fifth-best team in the country.

Iowa State came out, played arguably its best game of the year and knocked down 14 three-pointers en route to the 82-73 upset.

The two teams have met one other time, when ISU traveled to Lubbock and stuck with the Lady Raiders before falling 64-58.

Tech leads the conference in scoring defense, as it has given up an average of 59.6 points per game while scoring 76.1.

The Cyclones, meanwhile, average 78.9 while allowing 62.8 a game.

Individually, Braziel leads the conference with 20.6 points, ranks third in rebounding with 9.0 and leads the conference in blocks with an even 2.0 per game.

Also ranking high in the conference are Hanebutt, who ranks first in the league with an average of 2.94 threes per game, and Melinda Schmucker, who ranks second in the league with 5.65 assists per game.

While Tech certainly is a formidable opponent, the Cyclones will not enter the game with a bare cupboard.

Megan Taylor ranks seventh in the league in scoring at 17.8 points per game, while Stacy Frese is not far behind, holding down the 10th spot with 16.7 points per game.

However, the Cyclones present opponents with problems other than the dynamic duo.

Desiree Francis, who comes off the bench, averages 15.8 points per game and is fourth in the conference with an average of 8.9 rebounds per game.

Freshman center Angie Welle can also cause damage, as she averages 10.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 65 percent from the field.

This game will have a direct impact on determining the conference championship, and whoever is left standing tomorrow night in Lubbock will have a definite advantage.