The No. 21 Cyclones look to right the ship after back-to-back losses as they travel to Morgantown, West Virginia, to take on the Mountaineers.

After a short winning streak, Iowa State dropped both games last week, narrowly losing to Kansas State on the road and falling to Baylor at home. The losses showed similar issues that have come up throughout the season, as the team looks toward Saturday’s game as a chance to move in the right direction.

After the loss to Baylor, the Cyclones had a week off to regroup before the matchup with West Virginia. Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said the week off gave the team much-needed rest, both physically and mentally, as they approach a tough sprint to the end of the season.

“We probably needed a rest. It’s been a long six weeks for a lot of reasons,” Fennelly said. “Probably getting away from it’s good.”

The Cyclones have been trying to find their identity without Stephanie Soares for over a month and have shown flashes of what they are capable of with the new lineup. One key piece stays the same.

The big three – Ashley Joens, Lexi Donarski and Emily Ryan – are still getting a significant amount of minutes. In the home game against Baylor, all three played over 39 minutes, with Joens seeing the bench for just 30 seconds all game.

With the minutes that the starting lineup is playing, there have been questions about if it’s sustainable to play for nearly 40 minutes each game. There have also been questions about whether or not fatigue plays a factor in games slipping away later in the contests.

“I think probably that’s the biggest thing we have to worry about,” Fennelly said. “We’re not calling anyone up from the minors. We’re not trading. No NBA trade deadline for us. So, you got to go with what you have.”

Finding good reps and quality minutes from the bench will be a key point going forward. The roster is deep, despite the loss of Stephanie Soares.

One such player that has broken out in recent weeks has been Nyamer Diew. With Iowa State favoring a more small-ball playstyle, Diew has been getting more work in her new role.

“She’s been tremendous,” Fennelly said. “Her moods been good. She’s really excited about her role. I think she’s playing with a lot of energy.”

Diew had a career-high game against Baylor, heating up for 25 points. Shots weren’t falling as expected for much of the team, but it seemed as though Diew couldn’t miss.

Without Diew’s heroics, the game wouldn’t have been as close as it ended up being. The Cyclones lost by just six points to a team that has gotten the better of them in many different meetings.

“I think it was more so my teammates. They were just getting me the ball in the right places,” Diew said.

The team may be feeding Diew good opportunities at good moments, but it’s clear that Diew flipped a switch in the back half of the season. The same thing happened last year, as Diew was a major contributor when it got to grind time.

“After a few reps, after a few practices, it feels better,” Diew said. “The second half of the year, it’s better play, I feel like. I love conference play as well.”

With the Cyclones nearing the end of conference play and the season, they are prepared to make one final push before the Big 12 tournament. There are just seven games left, three home games before it’s time for tournament play.

After the road game against West Virginia, the Cyclones have a quick turnaround to prepare for Texas at home on Monday. Texas has been the clear favorite to take the Big 12, as most teams can’t handle the pressure the Longhorns bring to the court.

“It’s a really quick turnaround,” Diew said. “You just focus on the next 40 minutes. Do what we can control and play how we know we can play.”

With the Cyclones focusing on the game in front of them rather than looking too far into the future, West Virginia could pose a threat. Morgantown is a tough place to play, and the two teams tend to have very competitive games when playing there.

Along with that, the Mountaineers have quality wins under their belt, as they have their eyes set on an NCAA tournament appearance.

“West Virginia’s playing really well,” Fennelly said. “I think they’re looking at their resume as they’re an NCAA tournament team. I think they have a great chance to be there.”

Instead of getting ahead of themselves on what could go wrong, the Cyclones are focused on being their best version. Shoring up the defense and figuring out the shooting struggles are the first things on the docket moving forward.

The Cyclones are in a good spot to finish the season, but they know they can do better. The recent losses were a wake-up call that every game in the Big 12 would be a battle.

“We’re in a decent place. We’re not in the kinda place we’d like to be, obviously, for a lot of reasons,” Fennelly said. “Now it’s up to us to go out and compete and play and control what we can.”

Iowa State is set to face off against West Virginia at 5 p.m. Saturday in Morgantown, West Virginia. The game is also being streamed live on ESPN+.