CLEVELAND - During the Mid-American Conference portion of the season, Ball State University and Western Michigan University split its two head-to-head games.
Whichever team breaks the tie with a win today in the MAC Tournament in Cleveland will prolong its season by advancing to Saturday's semifinal round. The Cardinals and Chippewas tip off at 1 p.m.
Ball State coach Tracy Roller said both teams know the other well due to the first two games this year, and the team that exploits the other's weaknesses will have the upper hand.
"I think the fans are out for a good game," Roller said. "We gave [Western Michigan] our best game when we played at home and [Western Michigan] gave us their best game when we played there. So on the neutral court I think the fans are going to be getting a really great game."
Western Michigan's biggest strength is the offensive capabilities of senior guard Carrie Moore, who leads the nation in scoring with 25.6 points per game. The senior earned MAC Player of the Year and First Team All-MAC honors and is an All-American candidate.
In the first game between the two teams this season, Ball State held Moore to 17 points and was able to pull out a 76-60 victory. In the second game, Moore torched the Cardinals for 31 points, leading Western Michigan to an 81-68 win.
Roller said containing Western Michigan's top scorer on the
offensive end would take an entire team effort.
"The one thing I know is that we can't do it alone," Roller said. "[Moore] can shoot the three, she can take it off the dribble, she's very good at reading screens, she can get herself open and she's one of the best offensive rebounders in our league. She is a big concern for us and we must stop her as a team."
Behind Moore, Western Michigan doesn't present much for offensive depth. Senior Lindsey Brown and sophomore Tiera DeLaHoussaye are the only other Chippewas averaging in double figures with 12.7 and 11.7 points per game respectively. The Chippewas have five players who average four or more points per game.
In contrast, Ball State has four players averaging in double figures, led by First Team All-MAC Julie DeMuth's 15.4 points per game. Senior guard Kelsey Corbin, who earned Honorable Mention All-MAC honors, is second on the Cardinals with 12.1 points per contest.
Nine of Ball State's 10 roster players average more than four points per game compared to Western Michigan's five. Those nine Cardinal players all average at least 16 minutes per game, compared to six Western Michigan players with the same playing time. Roller said she hopes her team's depth advantage will pay dividends in the second half.
"Our depth is going to be huge in terms of bench scoring, rebounding and all the hustle stats," Roller said. "Those are things that we need to take care of as a team."
Ball State enters today's game after winning its last three regular season contests. Since beating the Cardinals two weeks ago, Western Michigan has lost two of its last three games. Roller said her team's momentum has the Cardinals' confidence flying sky high.
"I think our confidence level has been pretty high all year," Roller said. "But if there is one word that I can use to describe our team right now it would be focus. They're probably more focused than they've been all year. If there were ever a time you'd want your team to go against a team like Western [Michigan] - a team that's very hard to scout and very hard to win against - it would be when your team is as focused as we are right now."
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