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. 15, 2002

Hello from the business center at the OU Inn! We just arrived in Athens, Ohio, for our game Wednesday night against the Bobcats.

The Ohio trip is another long one for us, especially after traveling to Northern Illinois last Saturday. That trip was about 5 1/2 hours by bus and this one to Ohio was nearly 4 1/2.

I don't really mind the long bus trips. It gives me a chance to clear my mind, I guess. I do a lot of thinking about life -- where I am at and where I want to be. It helps me bond with my teammates and staff.

It's no secret -- the last two games I haven't played all that well. So I have thought a lot about my game and what I need to work on. I have had good practices; I just need to carry that over into the games. Maybe it's just a midseason drought, but I'm going to play my way out of it.

We lost at Northern Illinois 67-64. Like I mentioned last week, it was a big test for us and we didn't get the job done. The atmosphere was exciting. Their fans were really into the game and I think that helped them a lot. Northern is a good team, with great leaders, and they will be a team to look out for in the end. Even though it was just the third conference game, it still was important to us. I think we'll be there in the end, too.

OK, enough about that game and back to the bus trips. The last couple of trips we have played euchre, a card game, on the bus. Amy Fuller and Amy Zercher are undefeated -- they have defeated Kate Endress and I and also coach Roller and coach Hill. So on the way home tomorrow night, I am hoping to get a rematch.

Bus trips also give us a chance to watch movies. We watched American Pie 2 on the way to Athens. On the trip to Northern, we watched Two Can Play That Game, Pay It Forward and E.T. Pay It Forward was one of the better ones we've seen so far. It was so good, I even cried at the end.

We know Ohio is a better team than last year, so we can't look past them at all. It's the top two offensive teams in the league, so there should be plenty of scoring. The team that plays the best defense will win. Coming off a loss, a good game is needed to put us back on track.

After this game, we head back to Muncie for a doubleheader with our men's team on Saturday. We play Bowling Green first, followed by our men against Akron. Good luck fellas!

Well, I gotta go to bed. I need my rest.

One Love,

Bowie