Can Iowa State women's basketball carry momentum into Saturday's game at Texas?

AMES – The Iowa State women’s basketball team’s upset of No. 6 Kansas State Wednesday put an end to the Cyclones’ recent woes and capitulated them back in the NCAA Tournament picture.

But another byproduct of the win may come Saturday.

“It’s just going to help us going forward,” said Iowa State freshman Audi Crooks. “Give us a little bit more confidence. It gives us our groove back.”

Iowa State will need every advantage it can get when the Cyclones take on their second top 10 team of the week by battling No. 5 Texas (22-3 overall, 11-2 in Big 12 Conference play) on Saturday at 3 p.m., at the Moody Center.

“When the season’s over, we’ll look back and go, ‘Did this turn the season, did it really matter?’” said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly. “I don’t know. But there’s no question that it puts us in a direction that we needed.”

Iowa State will quickly find out just how big of an impact Wednesday's win had on them. The Cyclones (14-9 overall, 8-5 in Big 12 play) entered the week with their season spiraling out of control. After opening the season with a 6-0 mark in league play, the team hit a wall. Hard.

More: Iowa State women's basketball topples No. 6 Kansas State in double OT thriller

It dropped from near the top of the Big 12 standings during a stretch that saw the Cyclones lose five of six games. Iowa State, which was almost assured a spot in the NCAA Tournament, was suddenly battling for the postseason.

Wednesday's victory gave Iowa State another resume-building win and may have helped overshadow some of the recent struggles.

Fennelly believes it’s the type of win that can carry over into Saturday's game, where the Cyclones have struggled mightily on the road.

“For them to have some level of success (Wednesday) I think will be something certainly they can build on,” Fennelly said.

The victory reinforced a lot of what Fennelly has been preaching to his team about ball control, getting to the free throw line and knocking down shots once they get there. During the double overtime win over the Wildcats, Iowa State made its final 14 free throws and didn’t turn the ball over in the final two frames.

“I think what it does is there is some residual (impact) that OK, if you play this hard and you follow the game plan and you focus on taking care of the ball, you focus on making free throws, you can beat a top 10 team,” Fennelly said.

They’ll need to do all those things again Saturday against a tough Texas team that has won five in a row and been nearly unbeatable at home, compiling a 12-2 record at the Moody Center.

None of that worries the Cyclones right now, though.

More: By preparing for adversity, Iowa State basketball has largely avoided it

“We needed this,” Crooks said of the Kansas State victory. “This is a little notch in our belt just to reassure us that the work we’re doing, our preparation is for nothing.”

It’ll be a big stage and another giant opportunity for the Cyclones.  Saturday’s game, televised on ESPN2, can add an even more important notch to Iowa State’s belt. Another victory over a ranked foe could be enough to secure the Cyclones a spot in the postseason.

ESPN women’s bracketologist Charlie Creme has Iowa State among his last four into the tournament in projections released Friday. A road loss to a highly-ranked team wouldn’t severely damage Iowa State’s hopes.

A win could be huge, though.

“It’s an exciting challenge for our program,” Fennelly said.

The trip will also be the last to Austin for the foreseeable future for Iowa State, with Texas leaving the Big 12.

“I’m not going to deny that I’m not really upset that we’re not going back to Austin ever again,” Fennelly said with a smile. “That’s fine by me.”

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State women's basketball vs. Texas preview: ISU riding momentum