Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Eastern Michigan University
Women's Basketball Closes Out MAC Regular Season At Home Saturday Against EMU
March 04, 2022 | Women's Basketball
The Cardinals will also celebrate their lone senior Blake Smith against the Eagles
March 5 | Muncie, Ind. | Worthen Arena |1 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: Muncie Sports Station (92.5FM/1340 AM) | Live Stats
Game Notes: Ball State | Eastern Michigan
Opening Tip:
- Sixth year head coach Fred Castro owns a 4-8 record against the Cardinals. Ball State swept the home and away series in Castro's first and second seasons with the Eagles. BSU split the series with EMU last year with the Eagles winning in Worthen Arena and the Cardinals defeating the Eagles on their home court by a score of 68-64 on Jan. 23. Ball State won its first meeting this year over Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Mich. beating the Eagles by a score of 83-73 on Jan. 12.
- Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan will mark the 87th time in program history the two schools have met with the Eagles leading the all-time series, 44-42.
- Head coach Brady Sallee holds an overall record of 12-9 against Eastern Michigan from 2012-13 to present.
- Ball State is looking to seal its fate into the 2022 Mid-American Conference Tournament which starts Wednesday, March 9 with the quarterfinals in Cleveland, Ohio. As of March 3 with one game left the Cardinals sit as the No. 4 seed and would face No. 5 Bowling Green.
- Eastern Michigan enters Saturday's contest with a 7-19 overall record and a 4-15 Mid-American Conference ledger. The Eagles have lost three in a row with the Eagles recently falling to Western Michigan by a score of 52-68.
- Today the Cardinals will pay tribute to their lone senior Blake Smith prior to the contest against EMU. 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.
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.
Rauch Racking Up The Points:
Junior Annie Rauch did it again on Wednesday at Central Michigan turning in another career best performance after scoring 24 points. Rauch went 8-of-12 from the field and pulled down nine rebounds. She helped the Cardinals win the points in the paint battle over the Chippewas, 40-34.
Home Sweet Home:
John E. Worthen Arena has been very good to the Cardinals for the past decade. Ball State has a record of 158-85 (.656) at Worthen Arena from 2004-present. In 10 seasons Brady Sallee has compiled a 90-50 (.658) record in Worthen Arena. His best season at home was in 2017-18 when the Cardinals went 15-3 in Muncie. This season BSU is 8-5 at home.
Ball State Updates Mask Policy:
Ball State University has updated its student, faculty, staff and visitor mask policy. Click here for more details.
