In the Mid-American Conference, winning on your home court is a must, but a little more than two weeks ago the Ball State women's basketball team failed to do so against Toledo. Tonight, however, the team can get revenge as it faces the Rockets on their home court.
The team will face a Toledo team that is 88-22 on its home court under head coach Mark Ehlen.
"Going into Toledo, which is a very, very tough place to win, and coming out of there with one would be a big boost for us, not only as a program, but confidence-wise," head coach Tracy Roller said.
The biggest key for the Cardinals to get revenge is to play good defense. After allowing only 49 points in its game against Buffalo, the team will look to stop the five Rocket players it let score in double figures the first time the teams met.
"I think we really did a better job of just dictating where they (went offensively)," Roller said about the team's defense against Buffalo, "so I want to see if we can do that against a team like Toledo as well."
The Cardinals' focus all season long has been on defense, and the performance this past weekend marked what Roller thought was the best 40 minutes of defense this year. The team will look to build on that performance against a stronger Toledo team.
"Defense is a mentality," junior Kate Endress said. "We just have to be ready to go up and pressure the ball all the way up the court and get in people's faces and be physical, and that's how we're going to turn our season around."
The Cardinals will face a preseason All-MAC player in senior Kelly Walker, who averages 12.3 points per game, to lead the Rockets. In the last meeting, senior Julie Hillis scored 14 points to lead the team.
For the Cardinals, Endress continues to lead in scoring with 19.4 points per game, which ranks her second in the MAC. Senior Jessica Reiter leads Ball State's rebounding efforts, averaging 11.1 per game. Last time the team faced the Rockets she had 16 rebounds, only two shy of her career high.
The Cardinals (10-8) are currently ranked third in the MAC West with their 5-2 record and need a win to keep pace with Bowling Green and Western Michigan, who are at the top. With Toledo behind them, a loss would move the Rockets up and the Cardinals down.
"More so than anything, it's not really about Toledo anymore," Roller said. "It's just about us and going out every day at practice and every game and competing."
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