The Ball State Cardinals were picked in the preseason poll to finish first in the West division and have been playing in first place the entire season with a very impressive 9-3 MAC record.
Ball State has hit the skids lately, falling victim to Toledo at home where they had been undefeated. On Saturday, they headed to Marshall, and the Thundering Herd pulled off a big upset against them with a surprisingly easy 86-69 victory. With those two losses and Toledo's victory over Ohio on Sunday, Toledo has moved into sole possession of first place in the West Division. They hold a one-game lead over Ball State and a one and half game lead over Kent State for top seed in next month's MAC tournament.
With one game last week, a 62-40 win over Akron, Kent State has a one-game lead over Miami in the East Division. The Golden Flashes (8-3), who defeated the Red Hawks 61-60 on Feb. 8, will host Miami this Sunday. Prior to meeting Miami, Kent State travels to Marshall, while Miami (7-4) hosts Central Michigan.
In the ninth installment of the College Basketball News Women's Ratings Power Index Report, the Mid-American Conference was No. 14 among the 31 Division I conferences and was also ranked No. 16, according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Summerville RPI Report, and No. 14 by the CollegeRPI.com report. The MAC had two schools in the top 100 and six in the top 150 in all three reports.
Marshall's Catie Knable was named MAC East Division Player of the Week. She shares the honor with Miami's Colleen Day. Knable averaged 17.0 points, 14.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. She shot 57 percent from the floor, 67 percent from the free throw line and was a perfect 4-4 from 3-point range. She had 14 points and 14 rebounds in a loss to Western Michigan and followed that performance with 20 points, 15 rebounds and four assists in a win over Ball State. Day helped the Red Hawks to two road wins by averaging 19 points and seven rebounds.
Ball State's Tamara Bowie, who moved into the MAC's top 10 in career scoring with a 20-point performance against the Eastern Michigan on Feb. 1, became the 10th player in MAC history to reach 1,900 career points following a 32-point outburst against Toledo last Tuesday.
With nine points Saturday at Bowling Green, Kim Lancaster became the 14th Miami player to reach 1,000 career points as well as the 118th in MAC history.
Northern Illinois' Kristan Knake had four steals against Miami plus three against Akron to give her 203 for her career. Knake surpassed the 1,000-point plateau at Montana State on Nov. 29.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
