Editor's note: Ball State's Tamara Bowie, last season's Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, will share a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season.

Jan. 23, 2002

It has been a week since I last talked with you, and what a week it has been. A lot has happened since my report from the OU Inn last week!

	Tamara Bowie averaged 18.6 points and 8.4 rebounds as a sophomore in 2000-01.

First off, we defeated Ohio 85-74 last Wednesday. It was a rough game for many reasons. I was in foul trouble and then their pep band (which was like 3 feet from our bench) was trying to distract us. We were down by 13 points in the first three or four minutes as the top two offensive teams in the Mid-American Conference went to battle.

Lucky for us, freshman teammate Kate Endress and sophomore Johna Goff played really well to keep us in the game. The second half was a lot better, and even though I was still in foul trouble, I got on track the last eight minutes. I scored all 17 of my points in those eight minutes ... that is so pathetic! To score 17 points in that stretch shows what I am capable of doing if I play a lot more minutes. I just have to be ready and play better from the tip.

After a long bus ride home to Muncie, we were back at home for a game with Bowling Green. It was another game where we got off to a slow start, leading by three at halftime. The second half was much different. We started playing our type of basketball and we were able to pull away for the 89-60 win. I guess there was some questions about our "trash-talking" on the court. Whatever that was said was definitely never intended toward anyone on the other team, but more a way for us to get motivated and stay motivated. Besides, Jordan talks and 'I wanna be like Mike.'

Last night, we hosted Akron in a Ball State Sports Network televised game. Even though Akron is not one of our main concerns and not in our division, we wanted to stay motivated and play for 40 minutes. I think we did a good job of that and won the game 99-55. It was a game that allowed us to get better and prepare us for the next stretch.

That next stretch starts Saturday at Western Michigan. It's a big stretch of games for us -- there are three other teams in the MAC with only one loss and we play all three of them next. At 13-4 overall and 5-1 in the MAC, we are nearing the second half of the league season. Every game has an added importance and is one more step toward our ultimate goal.

Saturday's game will be fun heading back to Michigan. Many of my family and friends will be there because it's only an hour away from home. They do not get to see me play that often, so when they do, it's special. Following Saturday's game, we go to East Division leader Miami for a game Wednesday and then it's back home for Toledo.

Against Toledo, we are "Searching For Six" -- 6,000 fans, that is. We had a great crowd for our home game with Toledo last year and hope to have even more this year to set a MAC attendance record. Go to ballstatesports.com and print out a free ticket to the game. We need you there!

Alright, I have four quizzes this week in my classes so I better run and study!

One Love,

Bowie