Ball State University
Northern Illinois
WBB Looks To Protect Home Court Wednesday Against Northern Illinois
February 18, 2020 | Women's Basketball
The Cardinals are currently undefeated at home in Mid-American Conference play with a 6-0 record
Ball State (17-7, 9-3 MAC) vs. Northern Illinois (8-15, 4-8 MAC)
Muncie, Ind. | Worthen Arena
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Game Notes: Ball State | Northern Illinois
Opening Tip:
- Ball State and Northern Illinois will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. for its first match-up this season in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals are looking to remain undefeated at home, currently owning a 6-0 mark against league opponents this season.Â
- The Cardinals enter the contest as the No. 3 overall seed in the Mid-American Conference standings and No. 2 seed in the MAC West Division behind league leader Central Michigan and MAC East Division leader Ohio University.
- This will mark the 58th meeting in a series that began in 1982-83 when the Cardinals defeated the Huskies 86-83 on Jan. 26 in DeKalb, Ill. Ball State split the two-game series versus Northern Illinois last season losing at home on Feb. 9 (83-93) and then winning on the road at the Convocation Center on March 6 (67-64). Ball State leads the series, 37-20.
- Ball State held a 10-game winning streak against Northern Illinois from 2003-08. Brady Sallee has won 12Â of the last 15 meetings against the Huskies dating back to his first season at the helm in 2012-13.
- The Cardinals return home after two road games last week, winning at Toledo (60-58) and on the road at Buffalo (69-58). Sophomore forward Thelma Dis Agustsdottir registered a career high 26-point performance against the Bulls last Saturday after shooting a staggering 76 percent (10-13) from the field and 85 percent (6-7) from behind the arc.
Let The Countdown Begin:
- Graduate senior Jasmin Samz and junior forward Oshlynn Brown are nearing the 1,000 career point mark. Samz has 956 points while Brown enters tonight's contest with 966 career points. The last time the Cardinals had two players reach 1,000 points in the same season was in 2016-17 when former guard Jill Morrison and former center Renee Bennett both reached the 1,000 point plateau. It will be the third time under head coach Brady Sallee that two Cardinals have accomplished the feat in the same year, Nathalie Fontaine and Shelbie Justice both earned 1,000 points in 2014-15.Â
-Â Samz and Brown will also bring Sallee's player total to eight that have scored 1,000 points under his tutelage in eight seasons; Nathalie Fontaine (2,166), Moriah Monaco (1,606), Renee Bennett (1,246), Jill Morrison (1,170), Brandy Woody (1,071) and Shelbie Justice (1,067).
MAC Success:
- Under the direction of eighth-year head coach Brady Sallee, the Cardinals have had a wealth of success during MAC action. Sallee entered this conference season with 77-47 (.621) career MAC record. The Cardinals have punched their ticket straight to Cleveland in the MAC Tournament five out of seven times under Sallee and have reached the championship game twice. Ball State earned a MAC West Division title in 2014-15 and has reached post season play six times including making it to the round of 16 at the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) in Sallee's inaugural year.
Home Sweet Home:
John E. Worthen Arena has been very good to the Cardinals for the past decade. Ball State has a record of 146-75 (.649) at Worthen Arena from 2004-present. In eight seasons Brady Sallee has compiled a 78-39 (.667)Â record in Worthen Arena. His best season at home was in 2017-18 when the Cardinals went 15-3 in Muncie. This year the Cardinals own a 9-1 ledger in Worthen Arena and a 6-0 league mark.
Scouting NIU:
- Northern Illinois took one on the chin last Saturday in a close 68-65 loss to Western Michigan at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Ill. Courtney Woods led the Huskies in scoring against the Broncos with 18 points. Prior to the loss, the Huskies were on a two-game win streak after posting overtime victories against Bowling Green (92-87) and Miami (86-84).
- The Huskies have only one player averaging double figures and that is redshirt senior Courtney Woods who is scoring 18.5 points per contest while also pulling down 5.7 rebounds.Â
- The Huskies are led by head coach Lisa Carlson who is in her fifth season at Northern Illinois.Â
- Brady Sallee owns a 4-3 record at home against the Huskies.Â
- Northern Illinois currently ranks second in the Mid-American Conference in rebounding averaging 41.7 rebounds per contest. The Huskies have only been out rebounded once in league play this season. In conference games only, NIU's rebound margin in conference games is +3.9 per game.
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