The Time is Now

Junior guard Porchia Green has been a big reason for the Cardinals' success this year (BSU Photo Services).

A year removed from being touted as the hottest team on campus, the Ball State women’s basketball team is once again showing signs of life.

The Lady Cards have rattled off four consecutive wins to even their record at 14-14 entering Wednesday’s home finale against Northern Illinois. Their 10-5 record in Mid-American Conference play is enough to put Ball State into a tie with Eastern Michigan for first place atop the MAC West Division. And with the Cardinals owning every conceivable tiebreaker over the Eagles, it’s win and…win (the division title).

While six players average at least eight points per game for the Cardinals, junior guard Porchia Green has almost singlehandedly kept the program on life support. Green’s constant presence on both ends of the court has helped offset the team’s lack of consistency. She currently leads the Cardinals in points (12.8 per game), rebounds (7.1 per game), assists (127), and steals (43).

Ball State also got a shot in the arm from sophomore guard Audrey McDonald on Saturday in its game against Western Michigan. Or, to put it literally, the team got nine shots from the arm of McDonald. Her nine three-pointers in a single game set a school record and tied a MAC record. McDonald now has 74 treys on the season, just four shy of the school single season mark. It seems as if these girls understand when to step it up.

Yet there still remains a significant gap between the Lady Cards and the hottest team on campus. That title now belongs to the men’s volleyball team, and rightfully so. Victories over their last five ranked opponents, including a sweep of 19-time NCAA Champion UCLA this past weekend, have earned the Cardinals a national ranking of #9. They sit atop the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association standings with a 5-1 conference record. We have a serious title contender here in Muncie! Can you dig it? Ian Peckler certainly can.

However, the Lady Cards are starting to look like the 24-7 team that qualified for the WNIT a year ago. They endured a subpar non-conference run to open the season, and with it, a great deal of disappointment in a team that – theoretically – had everything going for it. But after all the talk about a substandard season, the Cardinals are right where everyone expected them to be: in position to vie for the MAC West title. And in a sport where greatness is often defined by championships and entire seasons by postseason play, the Cardinals may still have their best basketball ahead of them.

That likely comes as good news to coach Lisa McDonald, who will direct the team into the MAC Tournament next week. Before that, however, the Cardinals will take the floor at Worthen Arena for the last time this season on Wednesday night. Come and salute the club’s two super seniors, Julie DeMuth and Lisa Rusche. The low-post powers have averaged a combined 22 points and 12 rebounds per game this year.

For Ball State women’s basketball, the time to believe is now. Players, coaches, and fans all know that anything can happen come tournament time. It’s March, and with the possible exception of hayfever, March Madness is what’s in the air.