# 2020–21 Iowa State Cyclones women's basketball team

The 2020–21 Iowa State Cyclones women's basketball team represented Iowa State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cyclones were coached by Bill Fennelly, who was in his 26th season at Iowa State. They played their home games at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa as members of the Big 12 Conference.

## Previous season

The Cyclones finished the 2019–20 season 18–11, 10–8 in Big 12 play to finish in tie for fourth place. The Big 12 Tournament, NCAA women's basketball tournament and WNIT were all cancelled before they began due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Schedule and results

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* Noon, ESPN+ | No. 15 | Omaha | W 69–43 | 1–0 | Hilton Coliseum (0) Ames, IA |
| November 28, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | No. 15 | at South Dakota State | L 69–76 | 1–1 | Frost Arena (678) Brookings, SD |
| December 2, 2020 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 23 | at TCU | W 91–68 | 2–1 (1–0) | Schollmaier Arena (715) Fort Worth, TX |
| December 6, 2020* 11:00 a.m., ESPNU | No. 23 | No. 1 South Carolina Big 12/SEC Women's Challenge | L 65–83 | 2–2 | Hilton Coliseum (864) Ames, IA |
| December 9, 2020* 6:30 p.m., BTN+ | | at Iowa Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series | L 80–82 | 2–3 | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (326) Iowa City, IA |
| December 12, 2020* Noon, ESPN+ | | North Dakota State | W 85–64 | 3–3 | Hilton Coliseum (579) Ames, IA |
| December 15, 2020* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UNI | W 67–61 | 4–3 | McLeod Center (250) Cedar Falls, IA |
| December 18, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kansas State | W 91–69 | 5–3 (2–0) | Hilton Coliseum (802) Ames, IA |
| December 22, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Drake | W 85–67 | 6–3 | Hilton Coliseum (884) Ames, IA |
| January 3, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 19 Texas | L 59–74 | 6–4 (2–1) | Frank Erwin Center (0) Austin, TX |
| January 6, 2021 TBD | | Kansas | Postponed | Postponed | Hilton Coliseum Ames, IA |
| January 10, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Texas Tech | W 99–72 | 7–4 (3–1) | United Supermarkets Arena (2,000) Lubbock, TX |
| January 13, 2021 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Oklahoma State | W 90–80 | 8–4 (4–1) | Hilton Coliseum (724) Ames, IA |
| January 16, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 6 Baylor | W 75–71 | 9–4 (5–1) | Ferrell Center (2,247) Waco, TX |
| January 19, 2021 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 24 | Oklahoma | W 64–63 | 10–4 (6–1) | Hilton Coliseum (695) Ames, IA |
| January 23, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 24 | Texas | L 59–70 | 10–5 (6–2) | Hilton Coliseum (1,026) Ames, IA |
| January 28, 2021 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Kansas State | W 62–60 | 11–5 (7–2) | Bramlage Coliseum (0) Manhattan, KS |
| January 31, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 9 Baylor | L 77–85 | 11–6 (7–3) | Hilton Coliseum (1,129) Ames, IA |
| February 3, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 21 West Virginia | L 56–65 | 11–7 (7–4) | WVU Coliseum (514) Morgantown, WV |
| February 6, 2021 2:00 p.m. | | Texas Tech | W 92–73 | 12–7 (8–4) | Hilton Coliseum (789) Ames, IA |
| February 9, 2021 7:00 p.m., FSOK | | at Oklahoma | L 61–67 | 12–8 (8–5) | Lloyd Noble Center (678) Norman, OK |
| February 13, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | TCU | W 92–81 | 13–8 (9–5) | Hilton Coliseum (762) Ames, IA |
| February 17, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Kansas | W 84–82 | 14–8 (10–5) | Allen Fieldhouse (388) Lawrence, KS |
| February 20, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Oklahoma State | L 73–80 | 14–9 (10–6) | Gallagher-Iba Arena (1,235) Stillwater, OK |
| February 24, 2021 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 18 West Virginia | W 85–68 | 15–9 (11–6) | Hilton Coliseum (822) Ames, IA |
| March 3, 2021 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kansas | W 83–53 | 16–9 (12–6) | Hilton Coliseum (699) Ames, IA |
| Big 12 Tournament ||||||
| March 12, 2021 10:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (4) | vs. (5) Texas Quarterfinals | L 82–84 $^{OT}$ | 16–10 | Municipal Auditorium (0) Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA Women's Tournament ||||||
| March 22, 2021* 5:00 pm, ESPN | (7 M) | vs. (10 M) Michigan State First Round | W 79–75 | 17–10 | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| March 24, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | (7 M) | vs. (2 M) No. 4 Texas A&M Second Round | L 82–84 $^{OT}$ | 17–11 | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. M=Mercado. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking Movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked previous week. NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Final |
| AP | 15 | 23 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | 24 | RV | RV | RV | | | | | |
| Coaches | 18 | 24 | RV | | | | | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | |
Coaches' Poll did not release a second poll at the same time as the AP.