Tonight's game between Bowling Green and Ball State is more than just another meeting between a pair of Mid-American Conference rivals. It's a game between two coaches who were once a part of the same team.
Cardinals coach Kelly Packard and Falcons coach Curt Miller were assistant coaches at Colorado State back in the late 1990's. Since then, Miller was hired by Bowling Green in 2001, and Packard was hired by Ball State in 2008.
"Coaching women's basketball is a relatively small world," Packard said. "You don't get very far before you find somebody that you've worked with at some point. We shared some really special time together [at Colorado State], a team that was 33-3."
Tonight's game features the Falcons (16-3, 6-0), who are rolling on all cylinders and the Cardinals (7-12, 2-4), who are looking to snap a three-game winless streak.
"They've got a different team, but very effective," Packard said. "They're undefeated."
The Falcons are riding a nine-game winning streak heading into their matchup against the Cardinals and have won their 14 conference games dating back to last season. Their last conference loss was on January 29, 2011 at Western Michigan.
It'll be a challenge for the Cardinals to contain the Falcons, as the visiting team has three players who average 10 or more points on the season. Junior guard Chrissy Steffen leads the Falcons with an average of 14.6 points per game.
But Packard's focus will be on redshirt sophomore forward Alexis Rodgers. Rodgers, who transferred from Duke, is a true post player, Packard said.
"She's solid, broad and strong," Packard said. "She had 30 points in their last conference game against Eastern Michigan. [They] have not had a true big like that."
After a rebounding performance against Akron on Sunday, Packard said her team needs to continue to be aggressive in the paint.
"We've made progress the last two games," Packard said. "We were able to rebound really well against Akron. Bowling Green has not in the past been a strong rebounding team. Their two transfers, Rodgers and the Danielle Havel, who transferred from DePaul, they're putting up some big numbers.
" They have two significant transfers who have changed their rebounding game. It will be very important for us to have the kind of effort we had on the boards the other night against Akron."
The Falcons and Cardinals are scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. in Worthen Arena.
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