Ball State University
Northern Illinois
Women's Basketball Heads On The Road In MAC Action Wednesday To Play At Northern Illinois
March 03, 2020 | Women's Basketball
The Cardinals won the first meeting, 97-89, against the Huskies on Feb. 19 in Muncie
Ball State (20-8, 12-4 MAC) vs. Northern Illinois (9-18, 5-11 MAC)
DeKalb, Ill. | Convocation Center
Watch: ESPN+ |  Listen | Live Stats
Game Notes: Ball State | Northern Illinois
Opening Tip:
- Ball State went 2-0 last week at home beating Toledo (66-60) on Wednesday and then pulling off the upset over CMU (67-62) Saturday handing the Chippewas their first MAC loss of the season. The wins last week allowed the Cardinals to secure a first round bye to next week's 2020 MAC Tournament quarterfinal round in Cleveland, Ohio. Ball State also wrapped up its season with a 9-0 league mark at home going undefeated in conference play in Worthen Arena for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
- Graduate senior Jasmin Samz reached her 1,000th career point mark on Saturday against CMU, which includes 991 points in three years at BSU and nine points from her previous school Saint Louis. She needs just nine more points to hit 1,000 plateau as a Cardinal.
-Â With two games remaining, the Cardinals enter this last two regular season contests as the second best team in the MAC standings. The Cardinals need to just win one out of the two games to secure that No. 2 seed.
- This will mark the 59th 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 won its first meeting this season against the Huskies by a score of 97-89 on Feb. 19 in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals lead the all-time series, 38-20.Â
- Ball State eighth-year head coach Brady Sallee has won 13 of the last 16 meetings against the Huskies dating back to his first season at the helm in 2012-13.
MAC Tourney Time:
- This marks the 30th appearance in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in program history. Ball State has advanced to Cleveland 18 out of the past 20 seasons. The Cardinals are 20-28 all-time in MAC Tournament play and have advanced to the MAC Tournament finals on five occasions. Ball State defeated Bowling Green in 2009 in the MAC Tournament Championship game. This is the sixth time in current head coach Brady Sallee's tenure the Cardinals have punched their ticket straight to the MAC Tournament in Cleveland. Prior to that, Ball State had not received a bye in the MAC Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena since 2009, when the Cardinals won the event as the No. 2 seed. Currently, Ball State is the No. 2 seed and needs to win just one game this week to remain in that position.
Win No. 20:
- The Cardinals won their 20th game of the season Saturday against Central Michigan, making eighth year head coach Brady Sallee become the only head coach in program history to have four 20-win seasons —21-9 (2015-16), 21-10 (2016-17), 25-8 (2017-18) and 20-8 (2019-20).
Scouting NIU:
- The Huskies enter their final week of the regular season with a 9-18 record and a 5-11 mark in the Mid-American Conference. NIU currently ranks 10th in the league with an outside shot to host a first round MAC Tournament game. NIU needs to win both Wednesday night against Ball State and Saturday at Toledo, as well as other results to go its way.
- NIU is looking for a win after losing at Western Michigan Saturday by a score of 63-50. Myia Starks (Plainfield, Ill./Nequa Valley) led NIU in scoring for the second straight game, scoring 14 points with four rebounds, three steals and two assists. It was Starks' seventh double-figure scoring game in the last eight. Since February 6, Starks has averaged 12.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
- The Huskies are led by head coach Lisa Carlson who is in her fifth season at Northern Illinois.Â
- Northern Illinois has one player scoring in doubles figures, forward Courtney Woods who is averaging 17.8 points per contest.
