In the last 17 days, the Ball State University women's basketball team has played four of its five games on the road, logging more than 1,000 miles.
Saturday's 81-68 loss was the end of the Cardinals' longest road trip of the Mid-American Conference season. While it was a disappointing effort for the Cardinals, there was a sense of relief after the game that signified the end of the road trip.
Not only were the road trips long they were filled with inconveniences as well. Ball State traveled to the University at Buffalo on Feb. 3 in an airplane. However, snow closed Buffalo's airport and the flight had to be re-routed.
During the Feb. 7 trip to Bowling Green State University, the team's bus had no heat and the Cardinals had to wait for a new bus to pick them up in Fort Wayne before they could finish the trip to Bowling Green, Ohio. The delay lasted more than an hour and a half.
Ball State also traveled to the University of Toledo in a blizzard, adding more than four hours to the normally three-hour-long trip. Once the Cardinals arrived, the electricity at the team's hotel went out because of the storm.
During the five-game stretch, the Cardinals went 3-2. However, Ball State women's basketball coach Tracy Roller said she was proud of the way her team has played despite the obstacles it faced.
"We generally have one trip every year that has something funny happen," Roller said. "I've never seen or even heard of anybody else having to go through what we went through. When I think about it, I'm really surprised that we didn't lose more than [two] games."
Tonight Ball State plays the first of two back-to-back home games when the team tips off against Central Michigan University.
It will be the first home game for the Cardinals in more than a month.
The Chippewas sit in last place in the MAC West Division with a 3-10 conference record (11-15 overall). Central Michigan is led by seniors Ann Skufca's 12 points and Sharonda Hurd's 11.2 points per game.
Though the Chippewas are in last place, Roller said they are a team to be respected.
"I sure hope the players aren't expecting an easy game," Roller said. "Central Michigan just beat Northern Illinois and we had a rough time with [Northern Illinois]. Skufca has been doing well in the post and we need to do a good job on her."
During the Western Michigan game, Julie DeMuth recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds. The junior is now one double-double away from last year's mark, when she paced the MAC with 10.
DeMuth also connected on 5-of-8 from the free throw line, giving her 129 free throws on the year. That mark broke the previous single-season record of 125, set in the 1998-99 season by Markita Griffin.
A win would guarantee the Cardinals a chance to share the MAC West Division title for the first time since the 2002-03 season. Roller said the team has mixed emotions about its final games of regular-season play.
"We're really excited to be home and have the chance to compete for the West title," Roller said. "It's also sad, though, because we're in the last couple of games with our seniors [Kelsey Corbin, Tina Bolte and Becca Bajorek]."
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