The story of the Ball State University women's basketball season is a lesson in making the most of what is given.
The Cardinals had hoped for an at-large berth into the women's NCAA Tournament. However, after being left out of the field of 64 teams, Ball State will set its eyes on making noise in the Women's National Invitational Tournament.
Ball State received a first-round bye and will host the University of Kentucky tonight in Worthen Arena. The Wildcats defeated Oakland University 65-56 in Rochester, Mich. to advance to the NIT second round.
For Ball State senior point guard Kelsey Corbin, a positive of playing in the NIT is a prolonging of her career. Corbin knows that each game she plays from here on out may be her last.
"That's always in the back of your head," Corbin said. "It's always a possibility that next game is your last, but I'm trying to look at it more as us making the longest run possible in the postseason. We're looking at the NIT as being the equivalent of the NCAA Tournament as much as possible, so we have high expectations."
Ball State coach Tracy Roller said a decided advantage for her team would be the ability to scout Kentucky thoroughly. Ball State paid attention to Kentucky's first-round game with keen interest.
However, Roller said it may be tougher for the Wildcats to find scouting material on her team. The Cardinals haven't played a televised game in over a month and it is difficult for an out-of-conference team to get scouting tapes from a conference opponent during the postseason.
"We've gotten a lot better since (our last televised games)," Roller said in a press conference Wednesday. "As a scouting coach, I know it's difficult to get games on tape anyway. But when you're not on TV it's really hard [to scout]."
Kentucky is led by a balanced scoring attack on offense. The Wildcats have two players scoring in double figures - junior Sarah Elliot with 13.5 and fellow junior Samantha Mahoney with 12.3. However, six players average at least five points per game.
Corbin said the Wildcats' team offensive depth is generated by their athleticism throughout the roster.
"They obviously come from the Southeastern Conference and when you look at their conference, the athleticism is above and beyond any conference except for maybe the Atlantic Coast Conference," Corbin said. "They have a lot of height down low and don't run a lot of sets on offense. They set a lot of ball screens and make you work on defense as much as possible."
Ball State presents the same depth offensively, with four of its five starters averaging in double figures, paced by junior First Team All-MAC selection Julie DeMuth's 15.3. Corbin, who is second on the team with an 11.9, said it will be important for her team to dictate the tempo of the game.
"A lot will be riding on how we manage the game," Corbin said. "If we play our style of basketball - Ball State basketball - and take them out of their game we'll be fine."
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