Ball State University
University of Toledo
WBB Squares Off With MAC West Rival Toledo Saturday
February 22, 2019 | Women's Basketball
MBB Plays First In Saturday's doubleheader; Cardinals to celebrate “Hoosieroons and Hoops Day”
Game 26
Ball State (7-18, 2-11 MAC) vs. Toledo (15-9, 7-6 MAC)
Feb. 23 (4:30 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
Watch: ESPN3 | Listen: 102.9/1340 | Live Stats
Game Notes (PDF): Ball State | Toledo
Time For Tipoff
- John E. Worthen Arena has been very good to the Cardinals for over a decade. Ball State has a record of 133-66 (.671) at Worthen Arena from 2004-present.
In its first meeting, Ball State opened Mid-American Conference action on the road against MAC West Division rival Toledo on Jan. 5. Ball State lost that game to the Rockets,
65-58.
- The Rockets and the Cardinals will square off for the second time this year and 81st time overall. Toledo leads the all-time series record, 55-25.
- Ball State's last meeting over Toledo in Worthen Arena was on Feb. 24, 2018, the Cardinals won that game, 78-73.
- Ball State and Toledo first meeting ever was in 1980-81, that year the Cardinals defeated the Rockets by a score of 63-47.
- Toledo is also on a losing streak of its own, having recently lost at Northern Illinois (54-52) and versus Miami (65-56).
- The Hoosieroons will return to Muncie for one day – Saturday, February 23 – on "Hoosieroons and Hoops Day" inside Worthen Arena. In the early 1920s, when Ball State was known as the Indiana Normal School Eastern Division, its nickname was the Hoosieroons. The school's athletics teams received the "Cardinals" nickname in 1927, after the name was suggested by then-athletic director Paul "Billy" Williams and voted upon by the student body.
- Sophomore guard Maliah Howard-Bass and teammate freshman forward Thelma Dis Agustsdottir both earned career highs at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 16. Howard-Bass scored a personal best 20 points while Augustsdottir pulled down a season high 12 rebounds against the Eagles.
This season the Cardnials will have six true freshmen on their roster for the first time since the 2015-16 season. That year Ball State had seven freshmen on the team. The Cardinals are tied with Buffalo for having the most freshmen on their roster this season in the Mid-American Conference. MAC freshmen breakdown: Akron (3), Bowling Green (4), Buffalo (6), Kent State (5), Miami (5), Ohio (3), Ball State (6), Central Michigan (4), Eastern Michigan (4), Northern Illinois (2), Toledo (3) and Western Michigan (4).
About Toledo:
- Toledo much like Ball State, enters today's contest with a losing streak. The Rockets have recently have fallen to Northern Illinois (54-52) and Miami (65-56). Both the Cardinals and the Rockets have faced one similar non-conference opponent this season, as both programs played Cleveland State. Ball State and Toledo each defeated the Vikings by a five-point margin.
- The Rockets have two players scoring in double figures, Kaayla McIntyre (16.1 ppg) and Nakiah Black (10.7 ppg). McIntyre also leads the Rockets defensively, averaging 8.2 rebounds per contest.
- For the 11th season, the Rockets are led by head coach Tricia Cullop who is a 1993 graduate of Purdue University. Cullop came to Toledo after spending eights years as the head coach of Evansville. Cullop owns an overall coaching record of 358-109 (.766).
- With five games left, the Rockets are currently in seventh place in the latest Mid-American Conference standings while the Caridnals are in the 11th spot.
What's Next For The Cardinals
- The Cardinals continue their three-game homestand when it hosts MAC West Division leader Central Michigan Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Worthen Arena. Ball State fell to the Chippewas in its first meeting in Mount Pleasant, Mich., by a score of 81-63 on Feb. 6. Wednesday's game against Central Michigan will mark the 79th time the teams have met, with the Chippewas leading the all-time series record, 41-37.
- Central Michigan's current head coach Sue Guevara was once a Cardinal. Guevara got her first full-time assistant coaching job when Ball State hired her in 1985. Guevara spent one season with the Cardinals, 1985-86, before spenging 10 seasons at Michigan State.
-Ball State's largest win streak against Central Michigan was 11 from 2000 thru 2006.
