Junior guard Kerrie James makes a pass during the Flashes 85-57 win over Toledo last Wednesday. The Flashes are 13-7 overall and 6-3 in the Mid-American Conference and host Ball State tonight at 7 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center. The Flashes and the Cardinals a

Credit: Carl Schierhorn

The Kent State women’s basketball team is stuck in somewhat of a triangle.

Kent State, along with Western Michigan and Ball State, are fighting to take sole possession of third place in the Mid-American Conference.

Kent State (13-7, 6-3 MAC) and Ball State (13-7, 6-3 MAC) will battle for the No. 3 ranking at 7 p.m. tonight at the M.A.C. Center.

The Flashes are coming off of a 69-63 loss at Western Michigan.

The Cardinals are riding a three-game winning streak and have won seven of their last eight games.

Kent State coach Bob Lindsay said the Flashes need to take Ball State out of its game plan to be successful.

“You have to take people’s strengths away from them,” Lindsay said. “You have to make them go to plan B instead of plan A. We didn’t do a good job of that against Western Michigan.”

The Flashes have done well after a loss throughout the season, going 6-1 following a defeat.

“You never know (how the team will do after a loss) until you play,” Lindsay said. “We have a pattern of this over the season.”

Aside from the teams’ identical records, Kent State and Ball State also have similar MAC scoring marks. Kent State is ranked No. 3, averaging 68.1 points per game, while Ball State is No. 4, averaging 67.8 points per game.

The Flashes have only won two of the 13 games in which they scored under their scoring average.

A victory tonight would be important, Lindsay said, but it does not weigh any more heavily than the seven remaining games.

Ball State has only one returning senior and is playing without 2005 MAC Player of the Year Kate Endress.

But, the Cardinals do have the league’s No. 1 rebounder, sophomore guard Julie DeMuth, who averages 8.9 rebounds per game.

Lindsay said DeMuth is a good player and has had a good season, but she is not the only Cardinal that the team has to watch out for.

The Flashes also have to contend with two guards that take care of the ball. Freshman Kiley Jarrett and junior Kelsey Corbin are No. 5 and No. 6 in the MAC in turnover-to-assist ratio.

Including tonight, the Flashes have just three more home games before the MAC Championships next month.

Contact women’s basketball reporter Deanna Stevens at [email protected].