After closing its regular season with a four-game winning streak, the women's basketball team begins the Mid-American Conference Tournament looking to get four more wins.
With that many more wins, the team's goal of capturing the school's first MAC Championship would come true. Ball State enters the game as the No. 5 seed and will play No. 12 seed Akron on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Akron is the same team that Ball State started against four games ago. The Cardinals also got wins over Toledo, Ohio and Central Michigan.
"I think we came back [from Central Michigan] really focused for Akron," senior Kate Endress said. "We're definitely not overlooking them, they're definitely the next step in our journey to be MAC Champs."
The first time the teams met, Ball State defeated Akron 67-51 on the road. In that game, the Cardinals controlled the first five minutes, jumping out to a 14-7 lead.
"It's all about how we start," head coach Tray Roller said. "If we start like we did there, it's going to be a long night for Akron."
The game on Saturday will also be Endress's last in Worthen Arena. The senior said that while the team didn't get as many wins as they would have liked in the regular season, a new season begins now.
"It's kind of a chance for us to start over and say, 'We are as good as we think we are,'" Endress said. "Hopefully we'll prove that to people come Saturday."
Even though the Cardinals have a new season in front of them, so does everyone else.
"You also have to keep in mind everyone has a clean slate," Endress said. "Akron's probably thanking God they have a clean slate right now."
Akron ended the regular season with a 3-24 record, but Roller said they will be no easy task.
"Their record is very deceiving; they play very hard," she said.
The team took Wednesday off and practice Thursday was not the best, Roller said.
"It's that time of the year with everybody. Spring Break is coming up, and I'm just trying to keep us focused," she said.
Roller did say that Endress showed a sense of urgency.
"She's going hard every possession, and some of the others were just trying to get back on track," she said.
If Ball State were to win, it would face No. 4 Eastern Michigan or No. 13 Buffalo in the second round. Endress has been saying all season long that the MAC Tournament was what the whole season was about, and now she's excited it's here.
"Everyone's excited about it, everyone's focused," Endress said. "We have one goal in mind and that's always, always on the top of our heads."
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