Ball State University Athletics
WBB Begins Practice For The 2016-17 Season
October 03, 2016 | Women's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State head women's basketball coach Brady Sallee and the Cardinals held their first practice for the 2016-17 season Sunday afternoon.
"Our group is very excited to finally hit the floor in preparation for a season full of high expectations," Sallee said. "Our team had a tremendous summer and continued their hard work and focus into conditioning and preseason workouts this fall. We are all looking forward to basketball season beginning!"
The Cardinals open their season with back-to-back home games against Arkansas Pine Bluff (Nov. 11) and Evansville (Nov. 16). Ball State's game against Arkansas Pine Bluff is a Kid's Day event beginning at 11 a.m. The Cardinals' contest against the Purple Aces tips off at 7 p.m.
The month of December will bring four home games to Worthen Arena — Chicago State (Dec. 1), Big Ten foe Purdue (Dec. 8), Lipscomb (Dec. 18) and Urbana (Dec. 28).
During Mid-American Conference action, Ball State will play 18 games (nine home, nine away) over 10 weeks. The Cardinals will play seven teams (five in division, two cross division) twice and four teams (cross division) once. This year's cross -divisional home-and-home opponents are Akron and Bowling Green.
Sallee enters his fifth year at the helm of the Cardinals, guiding Ball State to a 22-10 ledger in 2015-16. Last year marked only the fifth time in program history Ball State had won at least 20 games, helping make Sallee the only head coach in program history with four consecutive winning seasons — 17-16 (2012-13), 18-17 (2013-14), 17-12 (2014-15) and 22-10 (2015-16).
The 2015-16 season saw Ball State clinch its third trip to Cleveland in four years in the MAC Tournament. The Cardinals also earned their fourth-straight berth in the postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament where Ball State advanced to the second round for the first time since 2012-13, pulling off a 77-72 upset at Big Ten foe Iowa.
The Cardinals return four of their five starters from last season — senior center Renee Bennett (9.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg), senior guard Jill Morrison (9.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg), junior forward Moriah Monaco (11.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and sophomore guard Carmen Grande (6.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg). Ball State lost the MAC Player of the Year and the program's leading scorer, Nathalie Fontaine, who averaged 20.6 points per game and 10.2 rebounds.
Ball State also welcomes back senior Calyn Hosea, juniors Frannie Frazier and Brionna Simond along with sophomores Lucia Fernandez and Nakeya Penny. Newcomers on the team include Alana Aguirre, Morgan Glatczak, Jasmin Samz, Aliyah Walker, Megan Walton and Destiny Washington.
The Ball State women's basketball ticket renewal form will be sent out in the near future and the ticket-on sale date will be announced soon.
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State women's basketball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWBB and @BSUCoachBrady.
