Ball State University Athletics
WBB Set To Play At Middle Tennessee Thursday In WNIT
March 17, 2015 | Women's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State women's basketball team has earned an automatic berth to compete in the 2015 Postseason Women's National Invitational Tournament that consists of 64 teams. The Cardinals will play at Middle Tennessee Thursday at 8 p.m. (EST).
After clinching the Mid-American Conference West Division title outright for the first time since 2008-09, the Cardinals earned a bye as the second seed in last week's MAC Tournament and advanced straight to the semifinals, where they lost to No. 6 seed Eastern Michigan 75-65.
Ball State will be making its third straight WNIT appearance, and sixth overall. The Cardinals earned their way to the WNIT last season after a seven-game winning streak before losing 79-68 to Akron in the 2014 MAC Tournament title game. Ball State lost on the road to Northwestern in last season's WNIT, 69-64.
In 2013, the Cardinals made history as they won two WNIT games for the first time in program history. During their 2013 WNIT run, the Cardinals knocked off Big Ten foe Minnesota 54-51 on the road and scored a 53-48 win over Northern Iowa at Worthen Arena. In the Final 16 game, the Cardinals suffered a 60-48 loss at Kansas State.
Brady Sallee, who is in his third season at Ball State, becomes the only head coach in program history to take the Cardinals to three straight WNITs. He has led the Cardinals to a 17-12 overall record in 2014-15 and the program's sixth MAC West Division title.
Sallee becomes only the second head coach in program history to have three consecutive winning seasons -- 17-16 (2012-13), 18-17 (2013-14) and 17-12 (2014-15). The last time it happened was from 2004-07 under former head coach Tracy Roller.
The Postseason WNIT features 64 NCAA Division I women's basketball teams. The field includes 31 teams that receive automatic berths - one berth from each of the nation's established conferences - and 33 at-large selections. All teams at the NCAA Division I level are considered for at-large berths, including those who are independent and/or are in the process of reaching full NCAA Division I status.
