For the first time this season, Iowa State hits the road to take on the Drake Bulldogs.

The Cyclones and Bulldogs will tip off 2 p.m. Sunday at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

Last season, these two teams played in a shootout in Ames, where Iowa State came out on top with an 86-81 victory. Iowa State holds a slight edge over Drake in the all-time series 30-28, but is 11-17 on the road versus Drake.

“Drake can really score, so we’re going to have to defend like crazy,” said Bill Fennelly, Iowa State head coach.

Fennelly has a 17-7 record against Drake and a 6-6 record in road games against Drake.

The past few seasons have been some of the best in recent history for the Bulldogs, as they have won back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championships and the last three Missouri Valley Conference Regular Season Championships.

The Bulldogs defeated the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Friday, 74-67. Despite winning by single digits, the Bulldogs were in control for nearly the entire game, as the score was only tied twice and there were only two lead changes.

Redshirt senior forward and All-MVC Preseason Team player Sara Rhine led the Bulldogs in scoring with 25 points on 10-15 shooting, 5-6 from the free-throw line and seven rebounds.

Rhine has started for the Bulldogs in the last three matchups versus the Cyclones, averaging 18.3 points per game on 65.6 percent shooting from the field and grabbing 9.3 rebounds per game.

Iowa State is coming off a strong defensive performance where it only allowed its opponent, the Southern Jaguars, to score 36 points on 21 percent shooting and only four points in the paint.

Second Team All-Big 12 center Kristin Scott only played 15 minutes against the Jaguars due to a back injury, but she still scored eight points and corralled eight rebounds.

Sophomore guard/forward Ashely Joens led the way for the Cyclones scoring-wise with 23 points on 8-13 shooting.

The Cyclones have won 12 out of the last 15 matchups versus the Bulldogs.

Drake has scored 184 points combined in the last two meetings and won the last matchup in Des Moines between these, 83-80.

“This is going to be a defensive game for us,” said Rae Johnson, Iowa State junior guard. “They move the ball really well and shoot really well, so it will be a defensive test for us.”