Ball State University
Central Michigan University
Women's Basketball Welcomes CMU to Worthen Arena Saturday for MAC Matinee
January 20, 2023 | Women's Basketball
The Cardinals look to improve to 5-1 in conference action for the first time since the 2016-17 season
Jan. 21 | Muncie, Ind. | Worthen Arena | 1Â pm ET
Opening Tip:
- The Ball State women's basketball team looks to improve to a 5-1start in Mid-AmericanÂ
Conference play for the first time since the 2016-17 season when it hosts Central Michigan Saturday in Worthen Arena.
- The Cardinals are coming off one of their highest scoring performances in a single quarter after dropping 30 points in the fourth period Wednesday at Buffalo to help BSU come home with the 81-59 victory. For the game, Sophomore Ally Becki led all players with 23 points while also adding 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. Clephane was the second highest scorer with 20 points and teammate senior Annie Rauch chipped in 14 points.
- The Chippewas have struggled this year in both non-conference and conference action. Central Michigan is looking for only its second win in MAC play after defeating Northern Illinois, Jan. 4 by a score of 79-62 in Mount Pleasant. Since then, the Chippewas have suffered losses to Buffalo (63-70), Bowling Green (68-101) and Western Michigan (60-71).
- 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.
- Wednesday's game against Central Michigan will mark the 86th time the teams have met, with the Chippewas leading the all-time series record, 44-41. The Cardinals have won four of their last five meetings against the Chippewas including winning the two-game series last season.
- It may be cold outside but the Cardinals tend to get hot in the month of January under 11th-year head coach Brady Sallee. Sallee owns an overall record of 56-29 (.658) in the month of January dating back to his first season in 2012-13.
Fast Facts:- Redshirt senior Anna Clephane has 1,028 points for her career and became the 10th player under Brady Sallee to reach the 1,000 point milestone against Miami (1/14/23. Clephane is first on the team in scoring averaging 13.9 points per game.
 - Sophomore Marie Kiefer has proven to be a great defender for the Cardinals. She currently sits in 12th place all-time in blocked shots with 73 and so far has 25 total this season. Kiefer averages 1.4 blocks per contest.
- Graduate senior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir has found her rhythm behind the arc again as she currently leads the team with 54 three's so far this season.Â
Agustsdottir has 272 total 3-pointers for her career and sits in third place all-time. She needs 20 more to move up to second place which is currently being held by former Cardinal and current assistant Moriah Monaco (2014-18) with 292 3-pointers.
When BSU Scores 80+ We Win:
When the Cardinals score 80+ points this season it results in a victory for Ball State. The Cardinals are 9-0 when the reach the 80 point plateau with wins over Indiana University East (105-51), Butler (84-68), Utah State (80-55), Western Kentucky (82-76), Saint Louis (85-51), Tarleton State (80-77), Chicago State (119-53), Bowling Green (81-73), Miami (92-61) and Buffalo (81-59).
Scouting the Chippewas:
- The Chippewas return five letterwinners. All five made at least two starts in 2021- 22. The returnees and their respective number of starts (CMU played 29 games in 2021-22): Jahari Smith, 27; Lisa Tesson, 26; Anika Weekes, 25; Tiana Timpe, 15; Karrington Gordon, 2.
- The Chippewas are 3-1 when they have led at the half this season and are 0-11 when they trail at intermission. Central Michigan is 0-7 on the road thus far this year.
- The Chippewas are led in scoring by freshman forward Sydney Harris who is averaging 15.9 points per game. Behind Harris is freshman guard Bridget Utberg who scores 11.1 points per contest.
