Barely a week ago the women's basketball team used a 17-2 run to start the game to defeat Eastern Michigan for an easy 89-71 victory.
If the Cardinals repeat what they did last season, they will have a much harder time finding a win in Ypsilanti, Mich. Saturday.
Last year the Cardinals (18-5 overall, 10-2 Mid-American Conference) beat the Eagles by 34 in Ypsilanti, only to have Eastern take away a victory in Muncie by 20 points.
Following Wednesday's loss at Kent State, the Cardinals are in a position to control their own destiny. If they win the rest of their games, they win the MAC West and receive a first-round bye in the MAC Championships.
Despite the team's last game against the Eagles, it has been hampered all season by poor starts. While the team has been able to make up for the poor play to begin games with the lower teams in the MAC, the team could not make up the the difference against MAC East leader Kent State.
Head coach Tracy Roller has implemented practice drills to get the team into the mindset of not starting slow, but after Wednesday's loss, she said that is just the way the team plays.
The Cardinals have struggled with strong post-play teams, and luckily for Ball State, Eastern is not one of those teams. The Eagles' best player, Abby Wiseman, however, is one of the best offensive post players in the MAC. In the team's first meeting, Wiseman was in foul trouble for most of the game, but when she was in, no Cardinal defenders could keep her from doing what she wanted.
Another problem for the Cardinals is going to be controlling 5-foot-10-inch point guard Stephanie Smiley - the tallest guard in the league. In the first game, she was limited to two points, but handed out eight assists and recorded seven rebounds.
Roller said after the loss to Kent State she was using that game as a gauge to measure the team.
"I was using (the game) as a barometer to see where we were at in the season and how good we are," Roller said. "Now we know, and we have to get better."
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