KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- After the closest women's basketball race in the league's brief history, the Big 12 could be headed for more of the same.

Iowa State, Oklahoma and Texas Tech shared the regular-season title last season and should be in the thick of the race again, with pressure coming from Texas, Kansas and perhaps Colorado.

"I think it's going to be a very interesting year in our conference," Texas coach Jody Conradt said. "I wouldn't argue with the coaches' poll, but you could have shuffled up the order in a number of ways and still claimed its validity."

In a close vote, Iowa State was the pick of the coaches, with Oklahoma second and Texas Tech third.

Though Iowa State no longer has sharp-shooting guard Stacy Frese and athletic forward Desiree Francis, the Cyclones still have the talent to make a run at the title. Coach Bill Fennelly, whose team won the conference tournament and reached the third round of NCAA play, doesn't mind the pressure.

"I take it as a compliment," Fennelly said. "When you lose two players to the pros and are still picked to win the league, it says a lot about what people think about our program in general, that we can sustain it."

Center Angie Welle is one reason the Cyclones are regarded so highly. The 6-foot-4 junior led the nation in field goal percentage (.647) and recorded 11 double-doubles while averaging 15.4 points and 8.6 rebounds.

Sophomore Lindsey Wilson, who scored in double figures in five of the last six games, will replace Frese at point guard. Megan Taylor is back for her fourth season as a starter and Tracy Gahan, one of the few players who has to be yelled at to shoot, might be poised for a breakout season.

"If we can play four-on-four, we can play with anybody in the United States," Fennelly said. "We've got to find a fifth starter. We've always had a pleasant surprise, a player that plays better than expected. We've got to have that again."

Oklahoma lost player of the year Phylesha Whaley but returns everyone else of consequence. The best are La'Neisha Caufield and Stacey Dales, who started for Canada in the Sydney Olympics.

The Sooners would like Caufield to pick up on her brilliant play in the NCAA tournament. She averaged 23.7 points and six rebounds as the Sooners reached the round of 16, where they lost to eventual national champion Connecticut.

"It was a wake up call that maybe I wasn't practicing and playing as hard as I can," Caufield said. "For the team, it was great for us and made us practice even harder this season."

Texas Tech lost three starters and is counting on a highly regarded recruiting class for help. Junior college transfer Candi White will start at point guard and coach Marsha Sharp said freshman Natalie Ritchie could be the best shooter she's ever had.

"We lost three big seniors, but it's just like last year when we lost Angie Braziel and all those girls that were big scorers," sophomore Plenette Pierson said. "It's all about the freshman class stepping up and that's the kind of competitive freshmen we have."

Pierson stepped in last season and was voted the league's freshman of the year.

Lynn Pride is gone after a productive career at Kansas, but the Jayhawks aren't empty handed for coach Marian Washington's 28th season. Three starters and five other letter-winners return, including double-figure scorers Brooke Reves and Jaclyn Johnson.

Texas has four starers and seven other players returning to help offset the loss of Edwina Brown and her 21.2 scoring average. Look for the Longhorns to be more balanced, with Tracy Cook and JoRuth Woods leading the way.

Colorado, the dominant program in the final years of the old Big Eight, has been set back by injuries and defections since joining the Big 12. But with all five starters returning and versatile Linda Lappe back from a knee injury, the Buffaloes could make a move.

Nebraska, an NCAA tournament team the last three years, must rebuild around 6-5 center Casey Leonhardt after losing four starters. Missouri has improved in its two seasons under coach Cindy Stein and made the WNIT last March. A big year from Amanda Lassiter would help the Tigers continue moving up.

Kansas State is solid on the perimeter with Kristin Rethman, April Sailors and Kim Woodlee but will need help from young players inside.

Oklahoma State is excited about playing in renovated Gallagher-Iba Arena. Coach Dick Halterman will be even more excited if someone can fill the scoring void left by the graduation of Jennifer Crow (21.1 average).

Texas A&M might have some growing pains. Nine of the Aggies' 13 players are freshmen and sophomores.

Four starters return for new Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson, who inherits a 7-20 team that finished the regular season with losses of 33 points to Iowa State and 53 to Texas Tech.

"Wins are our biggest need," Mulkey-Robertson said. "But this basketball team will not be measured in wins, but in the number of games they truly compete in."