Editor's note: Ball State's Amy Zercher and Tamara Bowie will share a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season. This week, Bowie takes a look at the team's record-breaking season.

Jan. 22, 2001

	Tamara Bowie ranks among the MAC Player of the Year candidates.

Hello and greetings from Ball State University! The Mid-American Conference season is still in full effect and our team continues to get better and better each day. Like Amy said last week, Ball State is still sending out a warning of being a team of the future.

Our record entering this week is 14-3 overall and 6-0 in the MAC. It's the best start ever in MAC action, plus the record matches the 1974-75 Ball State team for the best record in school history after 17 games.

We really don't talk about the records much as a team. I think we all know that we are playing pretty well right now, but we also know we can get much better. We just want to keep improving every time out. The records will take care of themselves.

Last week we went 2-0 to extend our winning streak to a record-nine straight games, which ties for the second-longest in the nation. We defeated Ohio University 80-66, improving to 7-0 at home. Then on Saturday, we beat Marshall 77-58 on the road.

There is so much attention and excitement on campus right now about Ball State women's basketball. We had a great crowd at our home game with Ohio and everyone was excited about getting votes in the AP Top 25.

	DIARY LINEUP
	ESPN.com and FANSonly.com team up each week to present you with a new batch of women's college basketball player diaries, which lend some insight into the life of a student-athlete. To check out this week's lineup, click here.

The trip to Marshall was the first of three straight games on the road. Marshall is one of the longest trips we have. The bus ride is about five hours to Huntington, W.Va., and the trip home seems much shorter with a win.

I like to travel, and the bus trips allow for some serious bonding time with everyone. We have study tables on the bus, watch movies, play games and just talk with each other. For this trip, we watched A Few Good Men and A Time To Kill.

This week we have another long trip to Akron on Wednesday and to Eastern Michigan on Saturday.

Our team is really starting to gel. The unselfish play and the desire to win helps us to stand alone in the West Division of the MAC. This is a great feeling, but we are not satisfied. We have a lot more to accomplish. If we continue to play harder and smarter, according to Coach O, we will be a very hard team to beat.

Peace, Tamara Bowie