Ball State University
Eastern Michigan
Women's Basketball Hosts EMU Saturday In Early MAC West Showdown
January 10, 2020 | Women's Basketball
Both the Cardinals and the Eagles enter Saturday's game with 2-0 MAC records
Ball State (10-4, 2-0 MAC) vs. Eastern Michigan (7-6, 2-0 MAC)
Muncie, Ind. (Worthen Arena)
Watch: ESPN3 | Listen | Live Stats
Game Notes:Â Ball State | Eastern Michigan
Opening Tip:
- Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan will mark the 81st time in program history the two schools have met with the Eagles leading the all-time series 42-38.
- The Cardinals lost both of their meetings against the Eagle last season. In their first meeting on Feb. 16, 2019 BSU fell to EMU, 56-53. The Eagles defeated the Cardinals again in Worthen Arena on March 9 by a score of 67-57. It was the first time EMU had swept the home and away MAC regular season series against BSU since 2010-11.Â
- Head coach Brady Sallee holds an overall record of 10-6 against Eastern Michigan from 2012-13 to present.
- Ball State is riding a six-game winning streak into today's contest against the Eagles. The Cardinals opened conference action with a home win against last year's MAC East Division champion Kent State on Jan. 4. Ball State then earned an overtime win at Bowling Green Jan. 8. After today's contest, the Cardinals will play both of their MAC contests on the road next week at Central Michigan (Jan. 15) and at Ohio (Jan. 18).
- Eastern Michigan rides a 2-0 MAC record into today's contest as well. The Eagles have defeated the exact same league opponents as the Cardinals. EMU opened league play with a win over Bowling Green in Ypsilanti, Mich. last Saturday and then on Wednesday defeated Kent State on the road.
2-0 In The MAC:
- The last time the Cardinals opened Mid-American Conference action with a 2-0 ledger was in 2016-17 when BSU opened league action with wins over Toledo and Kent State.Â
- Ball State went 4-0 at the start of MAC play in 2014-15 posting wins over Bowling Green, Miami, Western Michigan and Kent State.
- Ball State's six-game win streak is the longest since the Cardinals won 11-straight in 2017-18.
- The Cardinals overtime win Wednesday at Bowling Green was the sixth victory Ball State has won by less than a six point margin. BSU has proved to be a strong second half team throughout the season thus far.
- Junior Oshlynn Brown registered a career high 29 point performance at Bowling Green on Wednesday.
Scouting Eastern Michigan:
- Eastern Michigan extended its win streak to five after beating Kent State on Wednesday. The Eagles closed out non-conference action with wins over Purdue Fort Wayne (64-60 | Dec. 10), UIC (68-59 | Dec. 18) and Detroit Mercy (84-70 | Dec. 21).
- The last time the Eagles started their Mid-American Conference season off with a 2-0 ledger was in 2010-11. That year EMU opened league play with wins over Northern Illinois and Ball State.
- Eastern Michigan has two players averaging double figures this season, Areanna Combs who leads the Eagles with 19.9 points per game and Aaliyah Stanley with 12.5 points per contest.
- Fourth year head coach Fred Castro owns a 2-4 record against the Cardinals. Prior to last season Ball State had swept the home and away series in Castro's first and seacond seasons.
Sallee vs. The State of Michigan:
Ball State is 30-16 against Michigan schools during head coach Brady Sallee's seven seasons after beating Detroit Mercy (twice), Western Michigan (11 times), Eastern Michigan (10 times), Central Michigan (five times) and Oakland University (twice).
