All season long, Ball State University has waited for one thing - the chance to earn the program's first-ever NCAA tournament bid with a Mid-American Conference Tournament championship at the hands of Bowling Green State University.
After an 83-72 win in the MAC semifinal game against Northern Illinois University and nearly four months of anticipation, the Cardinals' wait is over. Saturday Ball State will play Bowling Green, with the winner earning the MAC tournament title and the automatic NCAA bid that goes along with it.
Ball State junior forward Lisa Rusche, who scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Friday's semifinal game, said the team can't wait to play Bowling Green.
"I'm tired of seeing orange," Rusche said. "...I [was] kind of hoping Bowling Green would win just so it [could] be a showdown between the top two teams in the MAC. That's how it's supposed to be."
The Falcons beat Eastern Michigan University 71-57 in the other semifinal game Friday to advance to the championship game.
After that game, Bowling Green coach Curt Miller said he realized how badly Ball State wanted a piece of his team.
"They certainly want us," Miller said. "They've talked about it all year - that they wanted us an no one else in the final. Well they got us and it's going to be a great game."
However, senior center Liz Honegger, who averages 10.3 points per game and was named Honorable Mention All-MAC, suffered an injury in the first half and only played 16 minutes in the game.
After the game, Bowling Green coach Curt Miller said the team thought Honegger's injury was a chipped bone in the ankle.
"She's clearly not 100 percent," Miller said. "We have to re-evaluate and find out how she is over night. We'll play the next game by ear, but there is speculation of a bone chip."
The Falcons have been ranked nationally throughout the year and are currently ranked 20th in the Associated Press Poll and 18th in the USA Today Coaches' Poll. However, Bowling Green has been helped tremendously by the production of Honegger.
With the senior's availability in Saturday' championship game in question, Miller said he doesn't view his team as the favorite against Ball State.
"The great news is we're the underdog now," Miller said. "We haven't been the underdog for a long, long time. Ball State is loaded, they're healthy, they're hungry and they're a very, very talented team. So all the pressure is on them, we're clearly the underdog now."
While the Cardinals may be all the things Miller said, it's Bowling Green that is the experienced squad. The Falcons have won three straight MAC tournament championships and have made it to four consecutive championship games. In the last four years, Bowling Green has gone 11-1 in the tournament the MAC tournament.
Roller said Bowling Green's experience off-sets the Falcons injury situation.
"I don't really think there is a favorite tomorrow," Roller said. "Both teams are evenly matched and it should be a great game. Bowling Green is a very tough opponent and we have to be tough-minded when we face them."
While a victory over Bowling Green would ensure the Cardinals of an automatic bid, Ball State can still grab a possible at-large bid with a loss. The Cardinals are currently on the bubble with a 24-5 overall record, including a 13-3 mark in the MAC.
After the win against Northern Illinois, Ball State's RPI also jumped from No. 45 in the country to No. 31 according to realtimerpi.com.
While chances of an at-large bid are steadily increasing, Roller said she'd rather see her team wrap up the automatic bid instead of leaving anything to chance.
"I'm not even thinking about [an at-large bid] right now," Roller said. "I'm not even thinking that way. I'm thinking win. I think that a win really takes a lot of discussion away about the selection committee and it takes the decision out of their hands. Tomorrow, I think the whole team is just thinking about a win."
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