There is no rest for the weary and there is certainly no rest for the Cyclones.

At least not Tuesday night.

When No. 22 TCU comes to Hilton Coliseum Tuesday night for the Cyclones’ third game in six days, it’ll be Iowa State’s seventh matchup against a ranked team in the first 11 games of conference play, which is an absolutely ludicrous stat.

Coach Bill Fennelly’s response?

“Welcome to the Big 12.”

After a tough 87-55 loss on the road to Texas in which the Longhorns shot 54.2 percent from the floor and had six players score in double figures, the Cyclones now face a Horned Frogs team that has won six straight.

The Horned Frogs pride themselves on a balanced attack, averaging 78.2 points per game and shooting over 46 percent as a team. TCU’s leading scorer, Amy Okonkwo, has not started a game this season, yet is averaging 16.8 points per game in 20.6 minutes. The former USC transfer is hitting 46.2 percent of her 3-pointers and shooting 54.2 percent from the field.

TCU averages 18.5 assists per contest, second in the conference (Baylor, of course, leads the conference at 21.2 per game). That willingness to move the ball and create opportunities for others on a consistent basis is hard to stop at the collegiate level.

One of the best developments for the Cyclones over the last two weeks has been senior guard Emily Durr’s scoring surge. After not playing at all in the second half of the Baylor game and having a one-on-one conversation with Fennelly, the Utica, New York, native has scored 15, 16 and 20 points in her past three games.

Durr described the meeting with Fennelly as a “deriding.”

“He told me that I had to play better,” Durr said. “I think I needed it.

“You want a coach that’s straight with you and tells you how it is.”

For most of the season, the Cyclones have been desperately lacking a second option to go alongside star guard Bridget Carleton. If Durr can consistently perform at the level she’s reached in the past two weeks, the Cyclones will have a veteran tandem at the helm for the remaining eight games of the regular season.

Taking some weight off of Carleton’s shoulders is important for the Cyclones given the attention that she attracts from opposing teams. She frequently winds up on the floor after drives to the basket and Fennelly quipped that his first thought every time is for Carleton to “Get up. Please get up.”

Fennelly does have some issues with how Carleton is being defended, though.

“There’s no question that the people are guarding Bridget is just to beat the hell out of her,” Fennelly said. “She’s a tough, tough kid.”

Carleton, who received her third Big 12 Player of the Week Honor of the season on Monday, is averaging 19 points, seven rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, and she has scored 58 points in her last two contests.

Carleton is on her best run of games this season and she goes up against a TCU defense that is toward the bottom of the Big 12 in nearly every category except blocks per game. The Horned Frogs give up 68.8 points per game, a little more than a full point more than the Cyclones (68 points per game).

The Horned Frogs like to keep games close, especially in Big 12 play. TCU only has one conference win of more than 10 points and that was a 21-point victory over bottom-feeder Texas Tech. Four of their six straight victories have come in games decided by five points or less.

Carleton said that the toughness of each conference opponent is a big motivator.

“It’s exciting to play in a league like this, where every night is going to be a battle,” Carleton said.

With the season winding down, the Cyclones are running out of chances to gain momentum heading into next season. A win over a streaking TCU team would be a step in the right direction.