After a 21-point victory in the season opener against Eastern Kentucky, the Western Kentucky University women's basketball team has little time to rest as they head to Muncie, Ind., to take on Ball State at 6 p.m. (CST) on Monday.  This will mark the second-ever meeting between the Lady Toppers and Cardinals, as BSU erased a big first-half deficit to pick up a 72-71 overtime win last season in Diddle Arena.  Ball State dropped its 09-10 season opener Friday night at Michigan.

• The Lady Toppers and Cardinals met for the first time in 2008-09, with Ball State pulling out a 72-71 overtime victory at Diddle Arena. BSU returned to Bowling Green in March, and became the talk of the 2009 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament after its first-round upset win over Tennessee.
• WKU is 13-1 all-time against the teams that currently make up the Mid-American Conference. That record comes against five of the league's 13 schools - Ball State (0-1), Miami (Ohio) (3-0), Northern Illinois (2-0), Ohio (6-0), Toledo (1-0) and Western Michigan (1-0).
• The Lady Toppers are looking to start the year 2-0 for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
• This marks the third straight year WKU has played on game on Nov. 16, but the first time it has been on the road on this date since a loss at Texas Tech in 2003.
• The Lady Toppers are looking for their first win in the state of Indiana since an 85-74 overtime win at Indiana on Nov. 24, 1996. The chances have been few and far between since then, however, as WKU only played three games in the state since then. It fell at Indiana in 1998, at Evansville in 2001 and at Notre Dame in 2007.

Clifton Big In Debut -Freshman guard Courtney Clifton made an immediate impact on the Lady Toppers in her collegiate debut, dropping in a game-high 22 points off the bench Saturday night against Eastern Kentucky.  Clifton finished 7-for-13 from the field and 6-for-9 from behind the arc - two makes shy of the WKU record for three-pointers in a game.  She also knocked down each of her first three shots from three.  Clifton's efforts continued a trend that has seen a Lady Topper newcomer reach double figures in the season opener seven of the last eight season.

Call In The Reserves - Thanks in part to Clifton's efforts, the Lady Topper bench showed the added depth of this year's roster by accounting for 38 of WKU's 75 points against Eastern Kentucky.  Both Lashay Davis and Hope Brown accounted for seven points in a reserve role to aid in the effort.  Bench scoring has been a trend for WKU all three times it has taken the court this season.  Including the two exhibitions, the bench has accounted for 142 points - over 51 percent of the team's total points.

McNear Still A Scoring Threat - After averaging 11.9 points during her sophomore season - after scoring just 4.9 per game as a freshman - junior point guard Amy McNear proved in the season opener that she can still be a big-time scorer, dropping in 15 points against Eastern Kentucky.  McNear equaled Clifton for most shot attempts in the game with 13, and also knocked down five of her six free-throw attempts.  In addition to her scoring, McNear continued to do what she does best, dishing out a game-high three assists.  It marked the 38th time in her 62 games as a Lady Topper that McNear has led the team in assists.

Brown Cleans Up The Glass - WKU's career leader for rebounding average continued to add to her career totals as senior forward Arnika Brown pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds against EKU.  Eight of those 13 boards came on the offense glass.  She also dropped in eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.  Brown is now averaging 9.9 rebounds per game for her Lady Topper career, and has registered double-digit rebounds in 27 of 54 career games.

Unfamiliar Surroundings - Monday's game will mark the first time a Lady Topper team has even played a game in Worthen Arena as they take on Ball State.  That will be a common trend the rest of November as WKU will also play for the first time in Frost Arena at South Dakota State on Sunday, then visit the Moon Palace resort in Cancun for the first time in the Caribbean Challenge.

Lady Toppers vs. The Hoosier State - Monday's game at Ball State marks the fourth straight season WKU has faced a team from the state of Indiana.  The Lady Toppers dropped an overtime decision to the Cardinals last season, and played a pair of Indiana schools in the 2007 Preseason WNIT - falling at Notre Dame and winning at home against Evansville.  WKU also picked up a 95-56 over IUPUI on Jan. 2, 2007.  The Cardinals are one of seven school from the neighbor to the north to appear on the Lady Topper all-time results list.  Currently, WKU is 19-5 all time against teams from Indiana.