When the season began, I thought one of ISU's sure victories was over Indiana State - Muncie, now known as Ball State. When the Cardinals, with a new coach, beat us by 19 points, I assumed that it was because the game was played in Muncie. I still believe that factor was largely responsible for the margin but, as it turns out, the Cardinals (whose leading scorer -- Emily Maggert of Paris, Ill. -- ISU did not think was good enough to play here) were pretty good.
The Ball State women's basketball story is an intriguing one. Last season Head Coach Tracy Roller took a medical leave after several games and turned the reins over to Assistant Coach Lisa McDonald (as interim coach), who seemed to do a good job. Then Roller resigned at ther end of the season. Lisa McDonald seemed to be the probable choice to replace her but the AD went with Kelly Packard from Colorado.
The real surprise was that Lisa McDonald agreed to stay as an assistant. Reminds one of the McKenna-Lansing relationship. Ball State AD Tom Colins credits McDonald's decision to stay as being vital to the team's current success.
