Women's Basketball Holds First Practice Thursday
September 27, 2018 | Women's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State head women's basketball coach Brady Sallee is set to begin his seventh season with the team's first official practice Thursday, Sept. 27, at the Dr. Don Shondell Practice Center.
"This is always a great time of year," said Sallee. "I'm excited to get to work with this group. They've had a great preseason and I look forward to watching the process unfold!"
Sallee guided Ball State to an 11-0 non-conference record last season, making the Cardinals one of only seven teams nationally, and one of two non-Power 5 teams, to finish non-conference play with an unblemished record.  The 11 straight wins also marked the second-largest win streak in program history (12 in 2008-09, which included a win over Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament).
The Cardinals return six letterwinners who punched their ticket straight to Cleveland for the Mid-American Conference Tournament last year for the fifth time under Sallee.  Ball State made it to the postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament for the sixth straight year, advancing to the second round.
The players coming back include two starters, sophomore forward Oshlynn Brown (8.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and senior guard Jasmin Samz (11.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg).  Ball State also returns sophomore guards Katie Helgason and Maliah Howard-Bass along with senior guard Nakeya Penny and junior forward Aliyah Walker.
Ball State welcomes six newcomers to the squad; guards Abi Haynes, Hadassah Harris, Gabby Smith and Anna Clephane along with forwards Thelma Dis Agustsdottir and Blake Smith.
The Cardinals' typical practice time slot is 8:30 to 11:15 a.m. in the Shondell Center. Two days prior to games, the team will shift practice to Worthen Arena. Practice times will vary during theseason due to travel and game days. Â
The Cardinals open their season with back-to-back home contests against Big Ten foe Purdue (Nov. 7) and Cleveland State (Nov. 11). Ball State will take on the Boilermakers at 7 p.m., and the contest versus the Vikings will tip-off at 2 p.m. The game against Purdue will mark the 27th time in program history the two schools have met.The Cardinals made history last season by defeating the Boilermakers for the first time since the 1979 season by a score of 66-60, Dec. 4 in Mackey Arena.
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State women's basketball team, please follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateWBB.
