Behind every practice, victory and game this season, coach Tracy Roller has stressed the importance of creating a new tradition for the Ball State University women's basketball program.
A victory at Western Michigan University Saturday would give the Cardinals 20 wins in a season for the third time in the program's 33-year history. It also would be the first time since Roller's second year as coach in 2002-03 that the team has reached the milestone.
"My first two years we got that 20-win plateau," Roller said. "This year we wanted to get that tradition back. That was really the kid's goal for this week - to get to that 20-win mark."
Both of the Cardinals' previous 20-win seasons have come on Roller's watch. In her first year as coach the Cardinals earned a program-record 24 wins. The team followed that campaign with 21 wins in Roller's second season.
However, in Roller's next three seasons, the Cardinals never won more than 17 games (Ball State was 17-12 last year). Roller said that stretch helped her appreciate how special this year has been.
"To win 20 games says a lot because I know how difficult it is," Roller said. "From a fan standpoint, I don't think they really understand how difficult it is to win 20 games. So I'm really proud of [this team] for what they've been able to accomplish this year."
Helping Ball State to a 19-4 record has been the Cardinals' ability to remain relatively free of injuries. Ball State has fielded the same starting lineup in all 23 of its games.
Perhaps no one has benefited from the consistent lineup more than Cardinals' senior point guard Kelsey Corbin. Individually, Corbin has experienced her finest season with career-best averages of 11.7 points and a team-high 4.3 assists per game. This week, she was named Mid-American Conference West Division's Player of the Week for the second time this season.
Corbin said the familiarity she has with the other players on the floor has helped both her and the team to great seasons.
"When you're always playing with the same players you know what to expect out of each other," Corbin said. "It's allowed us to play very well together. We've all settled into our roles and individually we understand what the team needs from each of us in order to be successful."
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