A lot has happened in the Mid-American Conference since the women's basketball team lost to Toledo on Jan. 25.
Western Michigan lost its first two league games and Toledo lost its second dropping the two teams out of a three-way tie for first in the MAC West.
However, the two schools' records could be the least of their worries as Western Michigan lost its star, Kristin Koetsier, who will probably be back this season. But Toledo (15-6, 8-2 MAC) took a possible lethal blow as it lost its star player, Tia Davis, to season-ending knee surgery.
As the top teams in the league have stumbled and crawled through the tough parts of their schedules, the Cardinals (15-5, 9-1) have thrived, winning four games in eight days, with three of them on the road.
Nonetheless, when head coach Tracy Roller looks at tonight's game against Toledo in Worthen Arena, there is little optimism in her eyes that it will be any easier than the 13-point loss the Cardinals suffered in Toledo.
"Tia Davis wasn't the real person who hurt us a lot up there," Roller said. "(Toledo) really had two or three other players who were really hurting us from the outside."
In the previous meeting, the Rockets controlled the game with their zone defense, forcing turnovers by Ball State's post players while keeping the pressure on its guards on the perimeter.
Akron's zone defense continued to give the Cardinals troubles in Saturday's 74-64 win, despite senior Tamara Bowie saying the game was more like a practice than a game.
But against Toledo, practice time will be over as the Rockets bring the top defense in the league. Bowie said that more than just records are on the line for both teams, but will also be a matter of respect.
"The only way we are going to get their respect is for them to have Tia," Bowie said. "We just have to come ready to play and get down and work hard on both ends of the floor."
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