Western Kentucky forward Odeth Betancourt (left) passes the ball with Cornell forward Rachel Kaus defending during last month’s game at E.A. Diddle Arena.

The calm after the storm is almost over for the Western Kentucky women’s basketball team, which returns to action to host Ball State at 2 p.m. on Sunday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

It will be WKU’s first game in eight days, coming on the heels of a stretch in which the Lady Toppers played seven games in 15 games.

That included three games in three days in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., and a trip to Oregon State last weekend. WKU finished 1-3 in that stretch, losing to Kansas State, Purdue Fort Wayne and Oregon State with a win against Vermont.

“We traveled more than an Amazon delivery truck sometimes, but the girls did awesome in handling those short preparations,” WKU coach Greg Collins said. “We played some really good teams. We are in a good spot. We got some things we did well, but we have several things we are going to get back on the court and work on getting better.”

Collins said the biggest improvement needs to be in rebounding, where the Lady Toppers continue to struggle to find consistency. Opponents are outrebounding WKU by 10 boards a game with nearly a five-rebound edge on the offensive glass. WKU have been outrebounded in eight out of 10 games this season.

“We are in ballgames against really good teams and we are giving up way too many second-chance points,” Collins said. “We are not getting enough production at the rim. We can’t continue to bust our tail on defense and then not get a defensive rebound. We’ve got to do a better job on the boards on both ends.”

While WKU continues to look for answers on the floor, one person who has drawn attention during the recent stretch is senior forward Odeth Betancourt. Inserted into the starting lineup when freshman Caitlin Stacy was out with a concussion, Betancourt has seen an uptick in production in both scoring and rebounding – entering Sunday’s game third on the Lady Toppers in rebounding.

“Odie has absolutely stepped up,” Collins said. “(She’s stepped up) defensively. She’s hit some shots in some games for us that we’ve needed. Aaliyah Pitts has also improved her rebounding as well. Karris Allen has also gotten some more boards. It’s just not enough yet. We’ve got to do a better job of limiting the other team’s offensive rebounds.”

Ball State comes in 6-2, with the only losses to Connecticut and Notre Dame. Ball State is averaging 75 points a game, but like WKU has had a tough time on the boards with opponents outrebounding the Cardinals by more than seven a night.

It’s a familiar out-of-conference foe for WKU, which is playing Ball State for the 12th time since 2008 and the 10th time since 2003.

“They are in a very good conference,” Collins said. “They had a shot at winning the MAC last year and Toledo was a really good team that won the MAC last year and went to the NCAA Tournament. Ball State was right there. We’ve had some really good battles with them. It’s been a tough place to win at Muncie. We are going to try to make sure Diddle Arena is a tough place for them to win back here.”

Ball State begins the final non-conference stretch for WKU, which closes out the year with four non-CUSA opponents before opening conference play at Liberty on Jan. 6.

“We wanted the challenges that we got early in the season,” Collins said. “We wanted to get out there and play some really tough teams. And we’ve still got some tough ones. Ball State is coming in here. Abilene Christian is coming in here. And then we go on the road and play Nevada and Missouri State at Missouri State. All four of those teams are really good and competitive in their conference. We are glad that we aren’t playing three games in four days all the time, but we are also glad that we get a chance to get back and clean up, sharpen up some things we need to do.”{&end}