Ball State University Athletics
WBB Plays at Valparaiso Wednesday
November 23, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Radio: None
Television: None
Scouting Ball State: Ball State's women's basketball team evened its record at 2-2 with a 61-58 homecourt victory over Evansville Saturday night. The Cardinals suffered through a .339 field goal shooting percentage, but held the Purple Aces to a .400 mark and outrebounded Evansville 50-36 to claim the win. The Cardinals had three players in double digit scoring, senior forward Emily Maggert and junior forward Suzanne Grossnickle each had 11 points and nine rebounds while senior guard Ty'Ronda Benning chipped in 10.
Scouting Valparaiso: Valparaiso enters tonight's game with an overall record of 1-2 after participating in the 2010-11 preseason WNIT. The Crusaders started the season off with a 84-53 loss to DePaul but rebounded with a consolation victory over Austin Peay. Valparaiso ended the tournament after suffering a 74-58 loss to Lamar Saturday.
The Coaches: Ball State head coach Kelly Packard is in her third season at Ball State . . . Packard's overall record at Ball State is 42-28, while her Mid-American Conference mark is 21-11 . . . Valparaiso's head coach is Keith Freeman . . . he is in his 14th season at Valparaiso . . . he is the school's all-time winningest coach he entered the 2010-2011 season with a record of 269-202 (.571) at Valpo.
The Series: Tonight's game is the 12th meeting all-time between Ball State and Valparaiso. The Cardinals lead the all-time series record 7-4. Ball State has won its last two meetings against the Crusaders. The Cardinals pulled off a 71-64 victory last season exactly one-year ago tonight in Worthen Arena. Ball State has not played at Valparaiso since the 1989-90 season when the Cardinals defeated the Crusaders 85-43.
Game Day Quote From Kelly Packard: "We showed great growth in the intensity of our team defensive effort against Evansville. Our challenge will be to extend this growth to an opponent's home floor. Valparaiso executes offensive sets with complexity of screening actions. It will challenge our defensive growth.
