Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Central Michigan University
Women's Basketball Travels to Central Michigan Wednesday For Midweek MACtion
March 01, 2022 | Women's Basketball
March 2 | Mount Pleasant, Mich. | McGuirk Arena | 7 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: Muncie Sports Station (92.5FM/1340 AM) | Live Stats
Game Notes: Ball State | Central Michigan
Opening Tip:
- Wednesday's game against Central Michigan will mark the 85th time the teams have met, with the Chippewas leading the all-time series record, 44-40. The Cardinals have won three of their last four meetings against the Chippewas including a 57-45 victory on Jan. 22 in Worthen Arena.
- Ball State and Central Michigan first met in 1977-78 on Jan. 14 in Muncie, Ind., resulting in a 70-66 victory for the Cardinals.
- The Ball State women's basketball season is quickly coming to an end as the Cardinals only have one game remaining after tonight's contest. Currently, the Cardinals sit in fifth place in the Mid-American Conference standings as they prepare for the upcoming 2022 Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio. Although, Ball State hasn't sealed its fate quite yet the Cardinals have put themselves in a good position thus far to finish in the top eight.
- On Saturday, Ball State will pay tribute to its lone senior Blake Smith prior to the contest against Eastern Michigan which begins at 1 p.m. ET in Worthen Arena. Smith is a native of Carmel, Ind. She has been a four-year letter winner for the Cardinals. She has played in 89 games for her career and has started in 37 of them.
- The Cardinals have had success on the road this season owning a 7-4 ledger as they head to Central Michigan Wednesday. Ball State is currently 3-6 when playing on the road at CMU from 2012-present but won the last meeting in Mount Pleasant by a score of 69-66 on Feb. 3, 2021.
In The Nation In 3's:The Cardinals currently rank 15th in the nation among its Division I peers in 3-point field goals per game 8.8. Ball State also ranks in the top-50 in 3-point field goal attempts coming in at 13 with 739 and 21st in the nation for total 3-pointers made with 237.
Rauch Is 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, Crasher & 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.
So Close To A Victory:
In seven of the Cardinals eight losses in Mid-American Conference action they were by very slim margins, so slim in fact that those seven losses were lost by seven or less points. Ball State barely lost to Kent State (51-54), Akron (76-83), Toledo (55-58), Kent State (61-64), Buffalo (62-67), Toledo (66-69) and Northern Illinois (72-77).
MAC Success:
Under the direction of 10th-year head coach Brady Sallee, the Cardinals have had a wealth of success during MAC action. Sallee enters this conference season with 103-61 (.629) career MAC record. The Cardinals have punched their ticket straight to Cleveland in the MAC Tournament seven out of eight times under Sallee and have reached the championship game twice. Ball State earned a MAC West Division title in 2014-15 and has reached postseason play six times including making it to the round of 16 at the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) in Sallee's inaugural year.
Scouting Central Michigan:
- Central Michigan enters the contest with a 4-22 overall record and a 2-15 Mid-American Conference ledger. The Chippewas have lost their last eight contests. CMU's only two league wins came against Northern Illinois (72-68) and Miami (70-59).
- Central Michigan was picked to finish sixth in the 2021-22 Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
- The Chippewas are coached by Heather Oesterle who was the longtime assistant coach with the program prior to being named head coach in July of 2019. This is Oesterle's third season at the helm of the Chippewas.
- Ball State is 42-21 against Michigan schools during head coach Brady Sallee's 10 seasons after beating Detroit Mercy (twice), Western Michigan (17 times), Eastern Michigan (13 times), Central Michigan (eight times) and Oakland University (twice).
