Women's Basketball Hosts Milwaukee Tuesday In Season Opener For Field Trip Day

Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services

Women's Basketball Hosts Milwaukee Tuesday In Season Opener For Field Trip Day

November 08, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Opening Tip:
- Last year, Ball State played at Milwaukee on Nov. 25, 2020 in its season opener resulting in a 56-67 loss for the Cardinals. Prior to that, BSU and the Panthers had not competed against one another since 2003-04. The two schools' have met a total of six times with Milwaukee leading the all-time series 5-1.

- The Cardinals' lone win against the Panthers was on Jan. 12, 1991 at Milwaukee by a score of 82-60.

- The last time Ball State won it season opener was in 2017, that year the Cardinals defeated Cleveland State on the road by a score of 76-64.

- Head coach Brady Sallee is 2-6 all-time in season openers at Ball State dating back to his first season in 2012-13.

- Milwaukee will be only the second school from the state of Wisconsin that ninth-year head coach Brady Sallee has faced. In 2019, Ball State faced Big Ten foe Wisconsin at the Bahamas Hoopfest.

- Today's contest marks the fifth annual Field Trip Day. The Cardinals are 4-0 on Field Trip Day with wins against Arkansas Pine Bluff (88-60), Austin Peay (89-57), Bowling Green (77-70) and Xavier (70-49).

Agustsdottir Nearing 1,000 Career Points:
- Ball State senior crasher Thelma Dis Agustsdottir is nearing the 1,000 career point plateau. Agustsdottir currently has 909 points and needs 91 to become the 30th member of the 1,000 point club and the ninth under head coach Brady Sallee.

A lot of New Faces:
- Ball State welcomes three true freshmen to the team in Ally Becki, Madelyn Bischoff and Marie Kiefer. The Cardinals also welcome four transfers to the roster this season in Makenna Burch, Skyla Knight, Chyna Latimer and Jazmyn Turner.

Welcome Back:
- Ball State returns All-Mid-American Conference selection Sydney Freeman from last year's squad (12.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg) along with teammates Anna Clephane (12.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg), Thelma Dis Agustsdottir (11.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Annie Rauch (6.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg), Blake Smith (3.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Ivet Subirats (3.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg), Estel Puiggros (1.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg) and Cameron Grant.

Next Game:
- After today's the Cardinals remain home for the first of three contests versus schools from the state of Indiana, when it welcomes Purdue Fort Wayne to Worthen Arena on Friday, Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. ET. Ball State and Purdue Fort Wayne have met six times, with the Cardinals leading the all-time series record, 6-0. Ball State and Purdue Fort Wayne's last meeting was in 2019 in Fort Wayne. The Cardinals defeated the Mastodons, 83-52.

Ticket Information:
- Call 888.BSU.TICKET or 765.285.1474 to join the Cardinal Family inside Worthen Arena! Season tickets and groups are on sale now. Single game tickets will be available now at the numbers listed above and online at Ticketmaster.com.

A Cardinal Win Would:

- Give Brady Sallee his 164th Ball State career victory.

- Give Brady Sallee his 5th Field Trip Day win.

- Give Brady Sallee his 300th career win as a head coach

Scouting Milwaukee:

- Milwaukee returns 13 players from a year ago and was selected to finish second in the Horizon League preseason poll.

- Milwaukee is 2-0 on the road against the Cardinals and has won five straight dating back to 1992.

- Milwaukee ended the 2020-21 season with a 20-8 overall record, the program's 10th season with at least 20 victories.

- Milwaukee returns a solid core of experience for the upcoming season.Graduates Miquela Santoro, McKaela Schmelzer, and Sydney Staver are back for another season after averaging over 20 minutes per game each. Schmelzer started all 28 contests and has led the team in assists in each of the last three seasons. Staver finished third on the team with 9.2 points per game and Santoro was the first off the bench and averaged 4.8 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in her first year with the Panthers. In total, Milwaukee has 13 returners from a year ago.

- Milwaukee was phenomenal from the line in 2020-21, setting a new NCAA Division I record in free throw percentage with a mark of 83.8 percent. That number knocked off Idaho State's 83.2 percent clip in 2008 and also topped the men's record of 82.2 percent which was set by Harvard in 1984.

- Megan Walstad was named to the Preseason All-Horizon League First Team following an impressive campaign in 2020-21. After being sidelined the year prior, Walstad returned to the floor and dominated down low as she collected a First Team All-League award last season. The redshirt sophomore led the team in scoring (12.0 points per game) field goal percentage (50.0) and blocks (50) while ranking second in rebounds (8.7 per game).