The Cyclones will travel to Provo, Utah, for the first time in over 30 years to take on new Big 12 opponent BYU in hopes to keep the hot start to conference play going.

Many thought the 2023-24 season would be one of learning for the Iowa State women’s basketball team. The youth movement has taken center stage as the Cyclones rocketed out to a 2-0 start in the Big 12.

Wins over Oklahoma State on the road and a Kansas team projected to finish third in the conference showed what the Cyclones can do. Players like Audi Crooks and Nyamer Diew want to prove the doubters wrong and make a splash this season.

Crooks believes the sky is the limit for Iowa State. She said she is not worried about what others have to say about the team.

“We’re not really worried about what anybody else has to say,” Crooks said. “We’re not necessarily focused on proving them wrong as much as we are proving ourselves right.”

Diew was vocal about how other teams view the Cyclones. She expressed that they should focus on themselves and believes Iowa State can do more than people think.

“I envision winning every game, so 2-0 doesn’t really surprise me,” Diew said. “I think teams have got to wake up and start focusing on themselves before they come at us.”

The next team on Iowa State’s path is BYU. The Cougars are in a much different position than the Cyclones, starting Big 12 play 0-2.

BYU lost on the road to No. 23 TCU and at home against Oklahoma. With a game at home on tap for BYU, the Cougars will be looking to get their first Big 12 win as a newcomer to the conference over a red-hot Iowa State bunch.

Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said he and other coaches view every game as an opportunity to win. At hand for the Cyclones is the chance to start 3-0 in the conference.

“I don’t think Kansas came in overlooking us,” Fennelly said. “That’s the weird part about the schedules, you know, when do you play them, where do you play them, are they on a high, are they on a low?”

Iowa State and BYU have played just one time prior in women’s basketball. That game happened all the way back on New Year’s Eve in 1992, before Fennelly was Iowa State’s head coach, with BYU winning and leading the all-time series 1-0.

The schools will begin a new chapter as BYU and Iowa State face off as conference foes for the first time. The game from Provo, Utah, tips off at 5 p.m. Saturday and can be streamed on ESPN+.