While most people will spend their day after Thanksgiving hunting Black Friday deals, the Iowa State women’s basketball team will be hunting something else: a trophy.

Far away from the fall conditions of Ames, the Cyclones will take on the Tulane Green Wave in Bimini, Bahamas in the first round of the Junkanoo Jam. The Jam consists of two separate four-team tournaments, and the Cyclones are in a bracket with Tulane, Central Michigan, and San Diego State.

The winner of Friday’s matchup will meet either the Chippewas or Aztecs in the championship game on Saturday.

The prospect of winning a title so early on in the season will no doubt be a motivation for the Cyclones, who are coming off a large-yet-unconvincing 61-45 win over Missouri-Kansas City on Monday night.

After the ‘Roos forced 21 turnovers on Monday night, the Cyclones now have 57 turnovers on the season at a clip of 19 per game. That, combined with the Cyclones’ defense only forcing 40 turnovers, means that Iowa State is operating at a turnover margin of -5.67 per game. That puts the Cyclones in a tie with Idaho for 325th in the country.

Coach Bill Fennelly knows that the turnovers have to stop for the Cyclones to perform at the highest level.

“We’re turning the ball over way too much,” Fennelly said. “We have a lot of people who don’t want the ball.”

The Cyclones’ main struggles against UMKC came when the ‘Roos employed a full-court press in the second half. There will be a lot of intrigue surrounding Friday’s game to see if Tulane picks up on the weaknesses that UMKC pinpointed on Monday. Fennelly expects teams to focus on making the Cyclones uncomfortable.

Perhaps that’s why minutes after Monday’s win, Fennelly had already put the Cyclones’ “press offense” at the forefront of his pregame preparations.

“When someone presses you, you have to press back,” Fennelly said. “We better figure it out before Friday.”

Tulane is 2-2 on the season and coming off of a 71-59 victory over Iowa State’s Dec. 2 opponent Vanderbilt (who is winless with losses to Ball State and Middle Tennessee). The Green Wave have won games with their defense, holding opponents to 57.5 points per game and 38.1 percent shooting. However, the Green Wave only shoot 39.8 percent themselves.

Senior guard Kolby Morgan leads the Green Wave, averaging 22.8 points per game on a 44.6 shooting percentage from the field. She’s also hitting 44.1 percent of 3-pointers, and the potential matchup she will have with the Cyclones’ own star, junior guard Bridget Carleton, will be fascinating to watch.

One area in which the Cyclones have a sizable advantage over the Wave will be on the glass. The Cyclones average 43 rebounds per game, 84th in the country. That may not sound incredible, but the Green Wave rank 264th, pulling in 35.5 boards per contest. That large discrepancy can lead to more possessions and second chance opportunities in the Cyclones’ favor if they take full advantage.

Freshmen guard/forward Madison Wise and center Kristin Scott, who had 29 rebounds between them on Monday, explained how the Cyclones can excel on the glass.

“We always have to expect a miss,” Wise said.

“We make sure in practice that we’re going after every board,” Scott added.

Post play will also be crucial to the Cyclones’ hopes in the Bahamas. After two games of subpar production to open the season, the Cyclones’ posts carried the team to victory on Monday night, accounting for 13 of Iowa State’s 22 field goals.

One player to keep an eye on will be Scott. She recorded her first career double-double for the Cyclones with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 14 boards, so don’t be surprised if she finds her way into Fennelly’s fluid starting lineup on Friday.

How minutes will be distributed among the posts will largely depend on matchups and who has the hot hand. Junior forward Bride Kennedy-Hopoate started the first two games of the season, but only played 10 minutes against the ‘Roos.

With so many subplots and matchups to look out for, the Cyclones’ Black Friday clash in paradise is shaping up to be an enthralling one.