After finishing the non-conference season 4-9, the Ball State University women's basketball team is almost an exact opposite of its 9-2 record at this time last year.
Assistant head coach and acting head coach Lisa McDonald said the answer to the team's start has shown in practice.
"We have been focusing on making sure everyone is raising their level of play," McDonald said. "Intensity, focus, and execution has gone up and we are ready to take Ball State basketball to the next level."
The Cardinals start Mid-American Conference play against Western Michigan University on Wednesday night in an attempt to fix the team's worst start since the 1998-99 season. The Broncos enter the game 3-11 and are in the middle of a five-game losing streak.
Ball State won two of its last nine games, a period when the team shot above 45 percent twice.
Sophomore guard Audrey McDonald said the team has to fix little issues and then shooting will follow.
"We don't have to make any big changes, we just have to get back to playing our game," she said. "We have the pieces, but now we just have to put them in the right order."
In the past the bench was another weakness for the Cardinals. However, with Julie DeMuth missing playing time due to injuries, freshman Emily Maggert had a six-point, six-rebound performance against Butler University on Dec. 29.
Lisa McDonald also said Shannon Klei, Dana Moorman and other players have been impressive lately.
Despite getting outscored in 10 of 13 games this season, Lisa McDonald said she liked that the bench has stepped up in the last couple games.
"We think we have some quality kids coming off of the bench," she said. "We were able to get them confidence and help them adjust to the college game over the last couple weeks. Each freshman has raised their level, and they have told me that they want to be able to do that."
McDonald said the team is looking forward to what conference play has to offer and that Wednesday's game is the start to a clean slate.
"This is the best energy we have had the whole season," the acting head coach said. "This is what we play and worked for the whole year. The start is already in the back of our minds. Every one of us has put it in the past. As of tomorrow's game, consider us 0-0 and ready to begin again."
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