It's time for the hard work that's been poured into weeks of practice and two pre-season scrimmages to reap its benefits for the Ball State University women's basketball team.
The Cardinals open their season tonight at the University of Michigan. Even though the Wolverines finished with a 6-23 record last season, Ball State coach Tracy Roller said the Big Ten environment will present an adequate challenge to her team.
"We are in for a good game because we are playing at their place," Roller said. "Michigan might have struggled last year, but they have everyone back from last year. They also have four great freshmen that are getting quality minutes, so it will be a good challenge for us."
The Wolverines like to run and used their fast break to earn an 80-50 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff University on Saturday in the club's season opener.
While the Cardinals also prefer to run the floor, Roller said they might be forced to turn the contest into a half-court game.
"Michigan is a very athletic team," Roller said. "We just have to take care of our possessions and stay patient on offense. We can't try to play too quick because that will force us to turn the ball over. We can't match them turnover for turnover. So we need to take care of our possessions, maybe run the shot clock down a little bit and try to make Michigan use some of its shot clock when we're on defense."
Ball State begins the season after going through a successful pre-season. In its two scrimmages, Ball State beat the Ohio Legends and Hoosier Stars 69-44 and 93-89.
Junior forward Julie DeMuth, who averaged 18 points and 11.5 rebounds in the two contests, said that the solid pre-season gave the Cardinals a bundle of confidence entering the regular season.
"Our last exhibition game was really close, and being able to win that game definitely jumped our confidence up," DeMuth said. "Practices have also been going very well right now. A lot of girls have been stepping it up, and that makes everyone excited and gives us all a lot of confidence when you see your teammates stepping it up."
Tonight's game also marks the official start of freshman guard Audrey McDonald's career, who will be in the starting lineup against the Wolverines. The freshman said she's anxious for the regular season to get underway.
"I'm really excited, but not just because it's my first game," McDonald said. "I'm excited for the first game of the season, and for the chance to play against a Big Ten team. I'm feeling really confident on the floor right now. Obviously, I'm not up to where I'd like to be yet, but things are starting to click."
Against the Hoosier Stars, McDonald scored 14 points, shooting 4-of-6 from behind the three-point line. Roller said she expects McDonald's contributions to carry into the regular season.
"I'm just judging off of what I've seen in practice, but she's been very consistent with both her mentality and her effort," Roller said. "In the time I've known her, she's never been the type to back down from a challenge. So this will definitely be a challenge for her, and I don't think she'll be backing down from it."
The last time Ball State beat a Big Ten opponent was a season-opening win at the University of Minnesota to start the 1999-2000 season. The Cardinals are 17-48 all-time against Big Ten teams. However, McDonald said she doesn't view Ball State as underdogs in the match-up.
"I think we need to just focus on what we can do, and not on what Michigan does," McDonald said. "I don't look at it as an upset at all. I feel like we should win. It would be a big win for us, not just because it's against Michigan, but because it's our first game of the season and you always want to start the season off right."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
