I'll admit it: I was a little skeptical of how the Ball State women's basketball team would handle closing the regular season on a six-game losing streak, but I no longer have such doubts.
Seeing the team defeat Northern Illinois 80-71 on Saturday after being defeated on the same court 82-62 only five days earlier, I quickly concluded that the team handled it the best way possible.
I'm sure a combination of coaching and team leadership contributed to the newfound effort, but both the players and coaches should be commended for their attitudes. I saw a team that has, in the midst of a losing season, not forgotten about its preseason goal of winning the Mid-American Conference.
While many teams believe that they can go into March with a mediocre record and play the role of Cinderella, I wasn't sure this team was the one that would be doing that.
I saw the team play some pretty good basketball throughout the season, even during some of the losses. However, in the win against Northern, team members not only stepped up their level of play, but also brought an attitude that left the Huskies looking like lost puppies.
The level of play was something I never doubted. I knew a team with the likes of three 1,000-point scorers (Johna Goff, Kate Endress and Jessica Reiter) and a plentiful supporting cast could play with the best in the MAC. It was the attitude that surprised me, and it was the attitude that won the game for the team.
It was an effort that the Cards had been searching for most of the season and finally found when they realized they would be sent packing if they lost. They treated the game like the start of a new season, and if they are to win the MAC Championship, it would tie their best start to any regular season they have ever had. In the 1999-2000 season, the Cardinals won the first four. In no other season have they won more to open a season. Four is what it will take to win a championship.
This team still has several challenges left, but it could be on the way to winning its first-ever MAC Championship and gaining its first berth in the NCAA Tournament.
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