Ball State University Athletics
WBB Faces First Conference Road Test at WMU Sunday
January 06, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Ball State (6-8, MAC 1-0) vs.
Western Michigan (4-10, MAC 1-0)
Sunday, 2 p.m. (EST)
Read Fieldhouse (Capacity 5,421)
Kalamazoo, Mich.
Internet: www.ballstatesports.com
Radio: WERK (104.9 FM) - Jay Garrison
WCRD (91.3) - Donnie Kolakowski and Sean Stewart
Scouting Ball State: The Ball State women's basketball team continues Mid-American Conference action at Western Michigan Sunday at 2 p.m. in Read Fieldhouse. The Cardinals pulled off a 54-51 upset over MAC West Division leader Eastern Michigan Thursday night to improve their overall record to 6-8 while starting league action off 1-0. For the second straight game sophomore Jazmin Hitchens led Ball State in scoring with 16 points while teammate freshman guard Brittany Carter added 14 points on the night off of 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Junior guard Mercedes Miller chipped in a personal best 13 points and freshman forward Neschelle Williams led Ball State with a career high 11 rebounds.
Scouting Western Michigan: The Broncos enter Sunday's contest with a 4-10 overall mark and a 1-0 MAC record after defeating Toledo 70-67 at home Thursday night in Read Fieldhouse. Before the victory over the Rockets, Western Michigan had been on a three game losing streak. The Broncos shared one similar non-conference opponent this season with the Cardinals which was Detroit Mercy. Western Michigan lost to the Titans 73-64. Miame Giden and Maria Iaquaniello are the top scorers for the Broncos each averaging 11.8 points per game while Giden also leads the team in rebounding with 7.8 rebounds per contest.
The Coaches: The Coaches: Ball State head coach Kelly Packard is in her fourth season at Ball State . . . Packard's overall record at Ball State is 55-55 (.500), while her Mid-American Conference mark is 26-24 . . . Tasha McDowell is in her fourth season at Western Michigan. . . McDowell's overall record at Western Michigan is 29-74 and owns a MAC record of 14-36.
The Series: Ball State went 3-0 against the Broncos in 2010-11, winning at home by a score of 70-55, at WMU (78-62) and then again in the first round of the MAC Tournament (67-43) . . . This is the 67th meeting between Ball State and Western Michigan . . . The all-time series record is knotted, 33-33 between the two schools'. . . Ball State has won eight out of the last nine meetings against the Broncos since the 2007-08 season . . . Both teams split last season in league action at their respective venues . . . Western Michigan won the last meeting at Read Fieldhouse last February, 68-51.
