As we get closer to finals, so does the Iowa State softball team to the end of its season. With three weeks left of school for many people in Ames, that only gives so much time for students to get enough time to prepare for finals.

For the Cyclones softball team, this means three weeks until the start of the Big 12 tournament, but in between is a lot of softball to be played.

After a weekend series against Oklahoma, the defending national champions, Iowa State is set to travel to Northern Iowa Thursday afternoon.

The Cyclones are coming off a forgettable six-game losing streak that saw the players in cardinal and gold being outscored 53-16.

Most of the runs going against the Cyclones come from a single inning where the defense can’t contain the opponents to fewer than three runs.

A prime example is the first of the Texas series, which was their home opener. The Cyclones started the home season allowing three runs at the top of the first inning.

This would be repeated again in the fifth inning of the second game, when the Cyclones lost to the Longhorns in five innings. Game three saw Iowa State start the game with a four-run deficit in the top of the first.

These large innings would only get worse during the Cyclones’ last-minute trip to Norman, Oklahoma, due to weather.

In the first game, an 8-1 loss, the Cyclones allowed a season-high seven runs during the bottom of the third inning.

Game two against the Sooners would be a closer game, only losing 9-5, but Iowa State allowed a pair of three-run innings, putting them in difficult position to respond late in the game.

In their last game, the Cyclones opened the game up with a run, but would not contain the high-powered offense in the following inning. They allowed another season-high seven-run inning.

The Cyclones will head to Cedar Falls, Iowa, before facing Western Illinois in a two-game series.

Both opponents are non-conference foes, but nonetheless the Cyclones will try to take advantage and pick up a couple games to get some momentum before Big 12 play resumes.

Northern Iowa is coming in with a two-game winning streak. It beat out Valparaiso in a doubleheader, winning 5-0 in the first and 7-3 in the second.

The Panthers are 20-15 on the season, including a 4-1 record at home. They have a pair of notable wins against Kansas and Central Florida.

The Cyclones are 1-4 against the Panthers in the last five match ups. However, the Cyclones won the 2017 game, 15-4, via the run-rule.

Nychole Antillon is coming into this rivalry game with a 0.270 average, having played all but one game for the Cyclones. She has been consistent with her hitting this season, having a hit in eight of her last nine games.

Brianna Weilbacher is coming into this game with an 8-8 record on the season, and a 3.60 ERA. She has allowed 10 home runs on the season so far, but has 82 strikeouts on the season, the most of the Cyclones pitchers.

The Cyclones will take on Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The game is at the UNI-Dome.