While playing Temple University Wednesday night, the Ball State University women's basketball team shot a season-low 28 percent in the team's worst offensive night of the year.
Junior guard Kiley Jarrett said coach Tracy Roller sat in the locker room with her team after the game and gave them some advice in preparation for the upcoming game against the Valaparaiso University and the rest of the season.
"She made her point very clear," Jarrett said. "That we need to put [Temple] behind us and play with a little chip on our shoulder."
As the Cardinals prepare for in-state rival Valparaiso Saturday afternoon in the Hoosier Classic, Roller, who was assistant coach for Valparaiso from 1997 to 2000, said the offense would have to work hard to get back on par.
"[Valparaiso] works very hard on defense, and we are going to have to work just as hard to continue to get good shots and improve," Roller said. "I would call our last game an offensive fluke. We are a better offensive team than that."
Valparaiso has allowed 73 points per game this season leading the Crusaders to a 1-5 record while Ball State enters the game with a 3-3 record. The Cardinals' losses came from non-conference match ups with the University of Louisville, Indiana University and Temple University.
With Wednesday night behind them, Roller said Valparaiso is the first of four big games coming up.
"The team knows we didn't play our best at Temple," Roller said. "The team is disappointed, and as a team, if you don't know you let an opportunity like those go you don't deserve to play basketball at this level."
This will be the final year for the Hoosier Classic. The tournament that normally highlights Valparaiso, Butler University, Indiana State University and Ball State is dismantling after its eighth year because of Valparaiso and Butler's moving to the Horizon League conference this season.
Historically, Ball State is 2-5 in the Hoosier Classic with both wins coming against Butler. The Cardinals sit winless against Valparaiso in the Hoosier Classic, a statistic Roller said she hopes to change as her team prepares for the Mid-American Conference Tournament in March.
"The non-conference teams are opportunities to improve so when conference teams come around you've been through the war and are ready for the conference teams and MAC tourney," Roller said. "When two rival teams meet, records don't matter and its just a dog fight. Those types of games are what get you better."
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