Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Northern Illinois University
Women's Basketball Hosts Northern Illinois For Annual "Think Pink"
February 25, 2022 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 26 | Muncie, Ind. | Worthen Arena | 1 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPN3 | Listen: Muncie Sports Station (92.5FM/1340 AM) | Live Stats | Tickets | Donate Think Pink | Game Day Sponsor LiveStream
Game Notes: Ball State | Northern Illinois
Opening Tip:
- This will mark the 63rd meeting in a series that began in 1982-83 when the Cardinals defeated the Huskies 86-83 on Jan. 26 in DeKalb, Ill. The Cardinals lead the all-time series record 40-22. The Cardinals won the first game of the two-game series in overtime against the Huskies by a score of 83-82 on Jan. 5 in DeKalb, Ill.
- Today's contest is the Cardinals annual "Think Pink" contest. You can log onto kayyow.com for more information.
- Ball State 10th-year head coach Brady Sallee has won 15 of the last 20 meetings against the Huskies dating back to his first season at the helm in 2012-13.
- Today's contest marks the third-straight contest this week for the Cardinals. Ball State took the two-game series this week from Western Michigan earning a 73-67 victory over the Broncos on Monday and then a 64-56 defeat on Wednesday in Kalamazoo, Mich.
- Northern Illinois also comes to Muncie riding a two-game win streak. The Huskies have recently defeated Western Michigan (73-55) and Eastern Michigan (72-65).
- Since these two teams have met back in the early portion of Mid-American Conference action, the Huskies have gone 9-7 while the Cardinals have posted a 9-6 ledger.
- With only a few games left, Ball State and Northern Illinois are fighting for their respective spots in the upcoming 2022 Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio which starts on March 9. Currently, the Cardinals sit in fourth place while the Huskies are in sixth.
Rauch Was Perfect:
Junior Annie Rauch went a perfect 10-of-10 from the field on Wednesday night at Western Michigan. Rauch turned in a career best 22-point performance. We did some research and no other Cardinal has been perfect from the field in quite some time the closest was in 2007-08 when former Cardinal Emily Maggert went 9-of-10 against Western Michigan.
Backs, Crashers & Keys:
This year, the Cardinals are forgoing "traditional" positions and using their own such as backs, crashers, and keys, to bring a sense of team unity. That system proved to be the lift Ball State needed, especially with so many new faces on the court. BSU started the season 2-0 for the first time since 2017.
2-0 This Week:
The Cardinals last two wins have been huge for them especially as the regular season is coming to a halt very quickly as BSU only has three regular season games remaining. In BSU's last two victories the Cardinals have outscored their opponent by seven points and out rebounded them by 11.
Next Game:
After tonight's contest the Cardinals will hit the road one last time this regular season when it plays at Central Michigan on Wednesday, March 2 at 7 pm ET in McGuirk Arena. The Cardinals will then close out their 2022 regular season at home for senior day against Eastern Michigan on March 5 at 1 pm ET.
Let The Countdown Begin:
The Mid-American Conference Tournament believe it or not is less than two weeks away. The tournament which takes place in Cleveland, Ohio at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse begins on March 9. The top eight seeds make it to the tournament for the quarterfinals which begin on Wednesday. The semifinals are played on Friday, March 11 with the championship game to be played on Saturday, March 12. As of right now, the Cardinals currently sit in fourth place and would face the No. 5 seed which is held by Kent State as of Feb. 25, 2022.
Scouting NIU:
- NIU is 5-3 in its weekend conference games this season, and have won each of the last three against Ohio, Buffalo and Western Michigan. A'Jah Davis has averaged 19.4 points and 13.6 rebounds per game in the Huskies' conference weekend matchups, shooting 54 percent from the field in those eight games. Janae Poisson is shooting 34.3 percent from long range and averaging 13.9 points per game.
- NIU leads the MAC with 42.08 rebounds per game, which puts the Huskies 21st in the country in rebounding. The Huskies had two players with double-digit rebounds Wednesday night against Eastern Michigan. Mikayla Brandon led all players with a season-high 13 while A'Jah Davis had 12. It was the fifth time NIU had a pair of players with double-digit rebounds, and the fourth time it was Davis and Brandon. Davis is fifth in the nation in rebounding at 12.0 per game and third with 4.6 offensive rebounds per game.
- Head Coach Lisa Carlsen is in her seventh season at the helm of the Huskies.
- The Huskies are led in scoring by Chelby Koker who is averaging 17.6 points per game not too far behind Koker is A'Jah Davis as she enters the game against Ball State averaging a double-double with 15.1 ppg and 11.1 rpg. Rounding out the double figure scoring for NIU is Jane Poisson with 12.7 points per contest.
