The Iowa State Cyclones (12-6, 4-3 Big 12) will travel to Waco, Texas, to battle the Baylor Bears (17-1, 6-0 Big 12) on Tuesday night.

The WBCA Coaches Poll ranks the Bears as the No. 1 team in the country.

One of the toughest things the Bears possess is extreme athleticism. They play well on both sides of the ball, as they are second in the nation in points per game as a team (86.6) and are sixth in the nation with 6.2 blocks per game.

“I tell our kids it’s like a Rocky movie: I don’t care what the score is, you have to be standing at the end of the fight,” Head Coach Bill Fennelly said. “People forget Rocky lost the first fight, but he finished it. That’s how you play great teams.”

The Bears are the defending national champions, as they edged Notre Dame 82-81 last season. With three starters returning, the Bears could be even better this year.

The Bears’ only blunder of this season was a 59-73 loss on the road at the U.S. Virgin Island Paradise Jam to the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks.

Baylor was outscored by 12 points in the fourth quarter in what could be a national championship rematch.

The athleticism poses a threat for the Cyclones, as they rank last in the Big 12 in turnover margin at -3.28. That means that the Cyclones are averaging at least three turnovers more per game than the other team.

But while Baylor may eclipse Iowa State in every statistical category, Fennelly thinks that it cannot stop the Cyclones from battling.  

“The one thing they cannot do, unless you allow it, is they can’t keep you from competing and break your will,” Fennelly said. “They just impose yourselves on you, and it makes you want to give up early.”

The Bears may be without their top scorer NaLyssa Smith, as she has missed the last four games with an ankle sprain. Baylor has four other players averaging double figures, but missing the leader scorer makes it a little easier on Iowa State’s defense.

Meanwhile, Iowa State is also dealing with an injury to one of its starters.

Junior point guard Rae Johnson suffered a back injury in the team’s 89-67 win over Kansas on Saturday.

She is not going to travel with the team tomorrow in hope of her returning for Sunday’s game against Oklahoma State.

But for Iowa State, the injury gives senior Jade Thurmon a chance. Thurmon is a change-of-pace guard who uses her speed to get to the basket and attack the defense.

“She’s like the closer in baseball that comes in,” Fennelly said. “She’s going to throw a 100 miles per hour fastball, and we’ll see where it goes. But something is going to happen when she gets the ball.”

The game against Kansas may have been Iowa State’s most complete offensive performance of the season, considering Ashley Joens was held to 13 points.

Iowa State has looked to Joens and her 22.44 points per game to shoulder much of the scoring load this season.

But with conference teams keying on Joens lately, it has opened up the offense for other players — like Thurmon — to score.

“I just want to become more of an all-around player that uses my teammates to get better, to be more dynamic,” Thurmon said.

Thurmon, a JUCO transfer from Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas, led the nation in scoring in 2017-18 before transferring to the Cyclones last season.

After playing in only 15 games last season for Iowa State and earning limited minutes to start the year, she has emerged as a scoring spark plug lately.

She tied her career-high with 10 points in the win against Kansas.

“She keeps grinding, and that is credit to her because a lot of kids would’ve shut it down when you don’t play a lot, but she’s done the opposite,” Fennelly said.

Thurmon’s change of pace may be just what the Cyclones need in a tough road battle.

“I like playing against good teams, so it is exciting,” Thurmon said.