Ball State University Athletics
WBB Begins Official Practice For 2015-16 Season
October 02, 2015 | Women's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State women's basketball team will hold its first official practice of the 2015-16 season Sunday, Oct. 4, six weeks prior to the season opener, at Charlotte (Nov. 13).
“This is always an exciting time of the year, and just like every coach in the country, I'm very optimistic about this group,” Ball State head women's basketball coach Brady Sallee said. "If their effort levels meet my expectations, we have the makings of a pretty good basketball team.”
The Cardinals return eight letterwinners from last year's squad which posted a 17-14 overall record and a 13-5 Mid-American Conference ledger. Ball State became postseason eligible after clinching the MAC West Division title outright for the first time since 2008-09. Ball State also competed in its third straight postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament, making Sallee the only head women's basketball coach in program history to achieve such a goal.
Leading the way for the Cardinals in 2015-16 will be three-year starter at senior forward Nathalie Fontaine. Fontaine averaged 16.4 points and 7.1 rebounds last season. A three-time First Team All-MAC selection, Fontaine also earned MAC West Division Player of the Week accolades four times last season. She currently ranks sixth on Ball State's 1,000-Point Club with 1,496 points, and has pulled down 659 career rebounds which is good for 11th all-time.
Another impact player for the Cardinals last season was two-year starting guard junior Jill Morrison. Last season, Morrison ranked second on the team in scoring (11.4), first in three pointers made (79), first in steals (44), first in assists (91) and first in free throw percentage (.829). Morrison was also selected to the All-MAC Third Team for her efforts last season.
Three other returnees who saw a lot of playing time on the court in 2014-15 were junior center Renee Bennett, junior guard Calyn Hosea and sophomore guard Moriah Monaco. All three players started at least 20 games for the Cardinals, while combining for 540 points (17.4 ppg), 324 rebounds (10.4 rpg) and over half of the team's blocks at 59 (1.9 bpg). Monaco was named to the All-MAC Freshman Team.
Senior forward Shelby Merder and sophomore guard Brionna Simond will also return to the court for the Cardinals. Ball State welcomes five newcomers in guard Alana Aguirre, forward Lucia Fernandez, guard Carmen Grande, guard Nakeya Penny and guard Destiny Washington.
The Ball State women's basketball team will hold practice Monday thru Friday at Worthen Arena from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Cardinals host Urbana University for its annual exhibition game Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. in Worthen Arena.
