Ball State University
Eastern Michigan
Women's Basketball Looks To Extend MAC Win Streak To Six At EMU Saturday
February 21, 2020 | Women's Basketball
Brady Sallee owns a 6-1 mark when playing at the Convocation Center
Ball State (18-7, 10-3 MAC) vs. Eastern Michigan (12-12, 7-6 MAC)
Ypsilanti, Mich. | Convocation Center
Watch: ESPN3 |  Listen | Live Stats
Game Notes: Ball State | Eastern Michigan
Opening Tip:Â
Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan will mark the 82ndt time in program history the two schools have met with the Eagles leading the all-time series 42-39.
The Cardinals won their first meeting against the Eagles earlier this season by a slim 59-54 margin on Jan. 11 in Worthen Aren.Â
 Head coach Brady Sallee holds an overall record of 11-6 against Eastern Michigan from 2012-13 to present.
Ball State is riding a five-game win streak into today's contest. The Cardinals are currently undefeated in the month February (5-0). The Cardinals just posted a 97-89 win over Northern Illinois Wednesday at home to remain unblemished (7-0) at home in Mid-American Confernce action. The Cardinals placed five players in double figures, shot 52 percent from the field and junior Oshlynn Brown registered her 11th double-double of the season after scoring a game-high 28 points and 13 rebounds.Â
Since losing to Ball State, the Eagles have gone 5-5 in league play. EMU recenlty lost at home 53-64 against Akron on Feb. 15. The Eagles enter today's contest well rested as they enjoyed a bye week with no mid-week contest.
Under head coach Brady Sallee the Cardinals are 33-23 (.589) in the month of February with a current record of 5-0. BSU's best February finish under Sallee was in 2016-17, that year Ball State finished the month of February with a 6-1 ledger.
Let the Countdown Begin:
- Graduate senior Jasmin Samz and junior forward Oshlynn Brown are nearing the 1,000 career point mark. Samz has 975 career points which includes her eight points from Saint Louis. She has 967 career points at Ball State and needs 25 for her career and 33 for Ball State record books. Brown enters tonight's contest with 994 career points and needs six 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
- 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).
The Ice Has Melted:
Thelma Dis Agustsdottir certainly warmed up her game last week with a 26-point career best performance in a win at Buffalo last week while shooting a staggering 76 percent (10-13) from the field and 85 percent (6-7) from behind the arc. For her perfomance she was named MAC West Division Player of the Week. Not only was she recognized on the court she was also award for her performance in the classroom, earning MAC Scholar Athlete weekly honors as well with a 3.5 GPA in actuarial science.
Chirpie Notes:
- The Cardinals remained undefeated in Mid-American Conference action at home on Wednesday after earning a 97-89 win over NIU in Worthen Arena. Ball State is now 7-0 at home in league play, they had its best shooting performance of the season in MAC action (52 percent) which was highlighted by a 61 shooting performance from the field in the third frame alone.
- The last time the Cardinals went undefeated in MAC play at home was the 2008-09 season. That year Ball State wrapped up league action with an 8-0 mark. Currently, Ball State's 7-0 MAC home record is the best ledger since the 2008-09 season. The Cardinals have three home games left in Muncie.
- This season Ball State has taking most of its games down to the wire. The Cardinals have won all but four MAC contests by six or less points with their largest margin being 20 vs. Miami, 11 vs. Buffalo, eight vs. Akron and NIU.
Scouting EMU:
- Today's contest will more than likely be a defensive battle. EMU and Ball State both have a high intensity defense that is known to have giving their respective opponents some fits this season. The Eagles have forced their opponents into 15+ turnovers 18 times. EMU also has a great tendency to steal the ball away from its opposition.
- The Eagles have three players averaging double figures this season with Areanna Combs leading the charge averaging 18.6 points per game. Aaliyah Stanley comes in second scoring 12.4 points per contest and Jenna Annecchiarico rounds out the double figures chipping in 10.5 ppg.
- Eighth-year Ball State head coach Brady Sallee owns a 6-1 record at Eastern Michigan and was undefeated (6-0) in the Convocation Center up until last season when Ball State lost by a three-point margin (53-56) on Feb. 16.
- Fourth year head coach Fred Castro owns a 2-5 record against the Cardinals. Prior to last season Ball State had swept the home and away series in Castro's first and second seasons.
