Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Marquette University
Women's Basketball Heads To Marquette For First Round of the WNIT Wednesday
March 15, 2022 | Women's Basketball
Game 33 | Ball State at Marquette
March 16 | Milwaukee, Wis. | Al McGuire Center | 2022 WNIT | 8 pm ET
Watch | Listen: Muncie Sports Station (92.5FM/1340 AM) | Live Stats
2022 WNIT Bracket | 2022 WNIT Tournament
Head Coach: Brady Sallee | 10th Season
Record at Ball State: 183-131 (.582)
Overall Career Record: 319-241 (.570)
Location: Muncie, Ind.
Head Coach: Megan Duffy | 3rd Season
Record at MU: 64-25 (.719)
Overall Career Record: 108-45 (.705)
Location: Milwaukee, Wis.
Opening Tip:
- The Cardinals will be making their seventh WNIT appearance under 10th-year head coach Brady Sallee and 10th overall (all since 2002). The Cardinals are 6-9 all-time in WNIT play winning a first round game in 2018 over Middle Tennessee and then won two games to reach the final 16 of the 2013 event. Sallee has won a first round game in the WNIT three times against Minnesota in 2013 (54-51), Iowa in 2016 (77-72) and Middle Tennessee in 2018 (69-60).
- This marks only the fourth meeting all-time between the Cardinals and the Golden Eagles. Marquette owns a 2-1 record over Ball State winning the last meeting 97-41 in Muncie, Ind. in 1993-94.
- Brady Sallee and Megan Duffy are familiar with one another's coach styles as Duffy used to be a head coach in the Mid-American Conference after spending two seasons at the helm of the Miami RedHawks (2017-19). The last time Sallee and Duffy faced off was on Jan. 19, 2019 in Oxford, Ohio with Duffy winning that contest, 60-57.
- It will be a homecoming of sorts for Brady Sallee when he arrives in Milwaukee. Marquette's athletics director is Bill Scholl who was the athletics director at Ball State from 2012-14. Scholl was the athletics director that hired Brady Sallee 10 years ago.
- The Cardinals knocked off No. 4 Northern Illinois (60-54) and No. 1 Toledo (71-66) to make it all the way to the Mid-American Conference championship game for the first time since 2014. Unfortunately, Ball State came up short falling to No. 2 Buffalo by a score of 79-75.
Top 25 In The Nation:
The Cardinals rank in the top-25 in the nation in 3-point field goals attempted (6th-869), 3-point field goals made (11th-279), 3-point field goal percentage (14th-8.7), assists (20th-509) and assist turnover ration (25th-1.16).
Becki All-MAC Tourney Team:
Ally Becki became the first freshman in Ball State women's basketball program history to earn a spot on the Mid-American Conference Tournament All-Tournament team and the first player to receive the honor since 2014 when the Cardinals placed two players on that list in former players Shelbie Justice and Brandy Woody. In the three tournament games Becki averaged 15.7 points per contest, while dishing out 15 assists, tallied eight steal and shot 52 percent from the field (13-25). Becki had a 15 point performance against the Huskies (3/9/22), 12 points against the Rockets (3/11/22) and 20 points versus the Bulls (3/12/22). She also had two blocks and made 13 3-point baskets.
Scouting Marquette:
- This will be Marquette's 10th time competing in the WNIT, its most recent appearance coming in 2014. The Golden Eagles won the tournament in 2008 with an 81-66 win over Michigan State, and made a run to the championship game two years prior in 2006. In total, Marquette has played in 23 WNIT games, hosting nine of them.
- After finishing the 2021-22 campaign with a 21-10 overall mark, the Golden Eagles automatically qualified for the WNIT as the top-seeded BIG EAST team to not make the NCAA Tournament. Seton Hall is also a part of the field as an at-large bid.
- Coach Megan Duffy is off to the best coaching start through three seasons of any coach in program history. She boasts a 64-25 overall mark (.719) at Marquette.
- Lauren Van Kleunen earned All-Big East First Team honors. Van Kleunen leads Marquette in scoring averaging 13.3 points per contest.
- Marquette made it to the semifinal round of the Big East Tournament after defeating DePaul by a score of 105-85 in the quarterfinals on March 5 in Uncasville, Conn. the Golden Eagles then fell in the semis to UConn on March 6 by a score of 71-51.
