Audrey McDonald still remembers the feeling.
McDonald was a junior guard for the women's basketball team when Ball State upset fifth-seeded Tennessee 71-55 in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. A few years may have passed, but the memories haven't faded for the 2010 Ball State graduate.
"I remember this so clearly," the former Cardinal standout said. "We were up significant towards the end of that game, but we played like we were down 15 the entire game. Porchia [Green] was shooting a free throw, and Kiley Jarrett and I are standing at half court.
"I looked up and there was a minute left. I looked at her and said, ‘I think we're going to win.' I remember looking at our bench and they were all excited. I remember looking at the girls on the floor and it was just one of the moments where it finally happened. It finally came true."
McDonald played guard for Ball State from 2006-10. She helped the Cardinals to their most successful season in school history in 2008-09 when they won the Mid-American Conference regular-season championship, the MAC Tournament title and earned the school's first NCAA Tournament berth.
McDonald ended her career seventh all-time on the school's scoring list with 1,353 points as well as first in career 3-pointers made with 323 and 3-pointers made in a game with nine.
But Ball State fans no longer see her launching 3-point jump shots, celebrating championships with her teammates or defying the odds.
After graduating last spring, McDonald took on a new role with her former team: director of basketball operations.
Having coached McDonald for two seasons, the former Cardinals' presence on the bench is an advantage for coach Kelly Packard.
"She knows exactly what I'm talking about," Packard said. "She knows the basketball terminology, language, my expectations, the things that frustrate me, the things that I'm concerned about going into a game."
Packard said there wasn't much of a learning curve for McDonald in assuming her new role, which made the move a seamless transition.
The new position calls for McDonald to be in charge of planning travel, meals and checking equipment.
Playing on the road creates more responsibilities for McDonald. She said it's her job to make sure the team has a bus, the girls are eating three times per day and everyone has the right hotel room and keys. If anything goes wrong, McDonald said, it's on her.
Though McDonald's role doesn't allow her to make coaching comments to the team, she's allowed to chat with Packard and sit in on coaching meetings.
The transition didn't go as smoothly as McDonald had hoped it would, but she said she is adapting well to her new role.
"It's completely different," McDonald said. "As a player, I never realized how much work went into everything we got to do as players. I took it for granted as a player.
"I see things from a totally different perspective. I find myself getting flustered at the way that some of the players handle things, but I look back and say, ‘Wait a minute. I probably handled it the same way.'"
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