Ball State University Athletics
WBB Heads To Iowa Thursday For First Round Of WNIT
March 16, 2016 | Women's Basketball
The Cardinals Nest
- The Ball State women's basketball team has earned an at-large bid to compete in the 2016 Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament that consists of 64 teams. The Cardinals will play at Big Ten foe Iowa Thursday at 8 p.m. (EST).
- Ball State will be making its fourth straight WNIT appearance, and seventh overall. The Cardinals went 1-1 in 2002 in its first WNIT postseason experience, beating Louisville (95-84) and then falling in the second round to Valparaiso (77-69). In 2003, the Cardinals defeated Indiana State (91-87) and then fell to Missouri (88-77). In 2007, the Cardinals fell at home to Kentucky (85-82). Ball State advanced to the final 16 in the WNIT in 2012-13 after taking down Big Ten foe Minnesota (54-51) and Northern Iowa (53-48) before the Cardinals lost to Kansas State (60-48). In 2014, Ball State fell 69-65 at Northwestern in the first round and then suffered a 69-58 loss at Middle Tennessee last season. Ball State is 4-6 all-time in the WNIT.
- This is the third time in four years the Cardinals will face a Big Ten opponent in Ball State's first round of the WNIT. Ball State defeated Minnesota in 2013 by a score of 54-51. The Cardinals then fell 69-65 at Northwestern in the first round in 2014. The game Thursday marks the first-ever meeting between these two schools' in women's basketball. The Hawkeyes enter the game with a 19-13 overall record and went 8-10 in league action. The winner advances to face either Saint Louis or Little Rock for round two of the Women's National Invitation Tournament, March 19-22. The Cardinals defeated the Billikens at home 79-70 in non-conference action in December. Ball State has competed against one Big Ten opponent this season when it suffered a 73-63 loss on the road at Purdue, Dec. 13. The Cardinals are the first Mid-American Conference opponent Iowa has met this season.
- Ball State clinched its third automatic bye in four years as the third seed in last week's Mid-American Conference Tournament and advanced straight to the quarterfinals, where they lost to No. 6 seed Eastern Michigan 67-53.
- In the last two seasons, head coach Brady Sallee has compiled a 14-8 record for the month of March. In 2013-14, the Cardinals began the month with wins over Western Michigan, Northern Illinois and Toledo before heading into the MAC Tournament where they won four-straight before suffering a loss to Akron in the championship game. Ball Stat went 3-3 in the month of March in 2012-13, which included two win in the Women's National Invitation Tournament, advancing the Cardinals to the Final 16. Last season, Ball State began the month with wins over Central Michigan and Toledo before falling to Eastern Michigan in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament and Middle Tennessee in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament.
