By GREG FALLON
gfallon@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE — When asked before the season started which game, if any, Ball State women’s basketball coach Kelly Packard thought would be key to win if her team were to get any early season consideration from national pollsters, the second-year coach pointed to tonight’s.

That was before her team lost on Friday at Michigan.

A win tonight would now likely do very little in gaining the Cardinals any sort of national praise. Still, Packard’s suggestion that this game would matter that much emphasized just how key the second game of the season might be for BSU.

Western Kentucky, of the Sun Belt Conference, is a program with 27 consecutive winning seasons, including last year’s 16-13 campaign, and 16 NCAA Tournament appearances.

And now, not only does Packard see tonight’s game as a higher-profile one, she also views it as a chance to wash away a rather disappointing effort at Michigan on Friday, when BSU lost 87-67.

The Cardinals committed 28 turnovers in that game. The sloppy play had to do with the Wolverine’s full-court defensive pressure, something Packard expects to see plenty of tonight.

“Coming off of (Friday night), where we were a little bit frenzied with pressure, we are going to get immediate opportunity to respond differently to that,” Packard said.

“I expect very similar defensive pressure from Western Kentucky all the way up the floor. … We’re looking for that next step, that next opportunity, and that’s going to be (tonight).”

The Hilltoppers come into Worthen Arena for today’s 7 p.m. game having just played on Saturday — a 75-54 win at home against Eastern Kentucky. It was Western’s first game of the year.

Last season, in a game at Bowling Green, Ky., Ball State edged out a 72-71 overtime win against the Hilltoppers. Emily Maggert, Ball State’s leading scorer on Friday at Michigan, scored 16. Patrice King, who this year has been slowed during preseason with what Packard calls a chronic foot injury, scored 14 last year against WKU.

Kenzie Rich, a 5-foot, 7-inch senior guard for the Hilltoppers this season, led the Hilltoppers last year against Ball State with 21 points.

In addition to today’s game being Ball State’s home opener, the school has planned a brief ceremony before tipoff to honor last year’s success with the unveiling of both the MAC Championship and NCAA Tournament banners — both of which were already hanging for Friday night’s men’s basketball game.

Contact sports editor Greg Fallon at 213-5876.