With only five games left before the end of the regular season, plus only a three-game difference between fourth place and ninth place in the Big 12, every game is now critical.

The Iowa State Cyclones (15-9, 7-6 Big 12) are in fourth place in the Big 12 and are three games ahead of the Texas Tech Lady Raiders (15-9, 4-9 Big 12) who are in ninth place out of ten in the Big 12.

These two teams play at 2 p.m. Sunday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

“I told our players this week that in two weeks (at the Big 12 tournament), we could be in ninth, or we could be in third and now it’s just a scramble,” Iowa State Head Coach Bill Fennelly said.

In their first meeting this season on Jan 3 in Lubbock, Texas, Iowa State ran Texas Tech out of the building as they coasted to a 96-66 victory.

Junior center Kristin Scott and sophomore forward Ashley Joens scored 42 points combined in that game.

The Cyclones limited the Lady Raiders to 21 points in the second half dropped 49 points of their own.

Despite their 30 point victory over the Lady Raiders, the Cyclones are not overlooking them.

“You can’t underestimate anyone,” Joens said. “You just have to take every scouting report, every practice just as we did at the beginning of the season.”

They have good reason to not overlook the Lady Raiders, especially because of their offense.

In seven out of the last 12 games, Texas Tech has scored at least 70 points and in three of those games, they have scored at least 80 points. This includes a 109 point scoring performance over the Oklahoma State Cowgirls.

Texas Tech makes the third most, behind Iowa State and Oklahoma, in three-pointers per game among Big 12 teams with 7.7 per game.

“They are going to spread it out and shoot from three,” Fennelly said. “Anytime a team can score the way they can, it becomes a problem [for the defense]…so we have got to take care of ourselves, chase them off the three-point line….and keep scoring, cause we know they are going to score.

On average, Texas Tech is scoring 78.5 points per game, which is second-best in the Big 12 and 14th best in the NCAA.

While Texas Tech’s offense has been productive, the same can’t be said for its defense, as it has allowed 75 points in 10 out of its 13 conference games, including seven out its last eight games.

Despite this, senior Brittany Brewer for the Lady Raiders has shown that she is one of the best defensive players in the country. Brewer blocks 4.3 shots per game, which leads the Big 12 and is second in the NCAA.

All season long, Brewer has proven to be not only the best player for the Lady Raiders but one of the best players in the Big 12.

She leads the Lady Raiders in scoring and rebounds with 16 points per game, which is eighth-best in the Big 12 and 10.3 rebounds per game, which is sixth in the Big 12.

Brewer will likely face off against Joens, who is one of the best players in the country.

Joens is averaging 21 points per game, which leads the Big 12 and is seventh in the NCAA to go along with 10.5 rebounds per game, which is fourth in the Big 12 and 17th in the NCAA. 

As a team, the Cyclones are averaging 74.3 points per game, which is fourth-best in the Big 12 and 27th in the NCAA.

In the first matchup this season, Joens got the better of Brewer, offensively speaking, as she scored 19 points on 80 percent shooting while grabbing nine rebounds in 27 minutes played. Brewer scored 21 points but only shot 42 percent from the field and grabbed five rebounds.

While the Lady Raiders offense is optimistic headed in to Sunday’s tilt, there are some areas of concern for Texas Tech.

In the Cyclones last four home games, they have held their opponents to less than 68 points en route to winning all four.

The Cyclones are 13-0 when they’ve held their opponents to less than 68 points in a game this season.

When the Lady Raiders have scored less than 68 points in a game this season, they have struggled to win, as they are 2-6 in those games.