In the convoluted mess that the race for the Mid-American Conference West crown has become, the women's basketball team faces Western Michigan in Worthen Arena on Saturday in hopes of staying in a first-place tie in the West with Toledo.
For almost three weeks the Cardinals were tied for first in the West with both Toledo and Western, but as the games wore on, Western and Toledo seemed to fall out of the race as each team lost on the same weekend to give the Cardinals a one-game lead. But the once-dominant trio has suffered from the injury bug as each team has been without its star player for at least one game.
And as Toledo seemed to work through the injuries most easily as it took over the lead in the West, Western threw another wrench into the works. It defeated Toledo last Wednesday to once again bring Ball State into a tie for first in the West with Toledo. Head Coach Tracy Roller said she knows that if Western comes into Muncie and beats the Cardinals, hopes for a repeat title in the West are slim-to-none.
But the Cardinals face perhaps the only team in the league that has a better offense than Ball State. Western leads the MAC, averaging more than 78 points per game. The Cardinals are No. 2 in that category, but Roller said she knows there will be no lack of offense. The lack of defense that each team brings will be the cause of another high-scoring game for Ball State.
Western will be without its star player, junior Kristin Koetsier, for the ninth straight game, but has ample scoring ability without the preseason All-MAC selection. Sophomore Casey Rost has averaged more than 21 points in Koetsier's absence and sophomore point guard Maria Jillian leads the league in both assists and steals.
The Cardinals come off one of their best offensive performances of the year in a victory over Bowling Green on Wednesday. The team hit 10 three-point baskets on the way to a 90-85 victory, but Roller said if the Cardinals even want to have a chance of staying with the highly touted offense of Western Michigan, the team is going to have to have more of a commitment to the defensive pressure it has lacked for most of the year.
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