Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
University of Akron
Women's Basketball Looks to Remain Undefeated at Home Wednesday Against Akron
January 24, 2023 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 24 | Muncie, Ind. | Worthen Arena | 6:30 pm ET
Opening Tip:
- The Ball State women's basketball team looks to improve to a 6-1start in Mid-American Conference play for the first time since the 2016-17 season when it hosts Akron Wednesday in Worthen Arena. Currently, the Caridnals are tied for first place in the Mid-American Conference standings.
- In the Cardinals last game Saturday, BSU defeated the Chippewas by a score of 71-62. For the game, Anna Clephane led the Cardinals in scoring with 19 points.
- Wednesday's game against Akron will mark the 46th time in program history the two schools have met with the Cardinals leading the all-time series, 26-19. Ball State has won eight of the last 11 meetings against the Zips. Brady Sallee owns an 8-8 mark against Akron. In their lone meeting last season, Ball State fell to the Zips at Akron Jan. 15, 2022 by a score of 76-83.
- Ball State and Akron first met in 1986-87 on Dec. 17 in Muncie, Ind., resulting in a 56-64 loss for the Cardinals.
- Akron is looking to get back on the winning track Wednesday when it comes to Ball State. The Zips recently fell to Toledo by a score of 76-63 in Savage Arena. Sophomore Reagan Bass led the Zips with 24 points, while also pulling down a team best eight rebounds.
- 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 57-29 (.658) in the month of January dating back to his first season in 2012-13.
- Ball State head coach Brady Sallee is two games shy of his 200th career win as the Cardinals' head coach. Making him the first head coach in program history to accomplish that feat in both men's and women's basketball.
Fast Facts:
- Redshirt senior Anna Clephane has 1,047 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 14.2 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 75 and so far has 27 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 55 three's so far this season. Agustsdottir has 273 total 3-pointers for her career and sits in third place all-time. She needs 19 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.
Where the Cards Rank:
Nationally the Cardinals rank 21st in scoring offense (78.8), 21st in 3-pointers per game (8.4), 38th in 3-point field goal attempts (24.7), 24th in field goal percentage (46.2), 28th in assists per game (16.6), 77th in free throw attempts (19.2), 85th in free throws made per game (13.4) and 38th in winning percentage (78.9). The Cardinals currently sit at No. 10 in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll, the highest of any MAC team.
Scouting Akron:
- Akron is off to the second-best start in program history with a 13-4 record. The Zips best overall campaign came during the 2014-15 season with a 14-2 ledger.
- Akron has four players averaging double-digit scoring per game with Reagan Bass leading her squad scoring 17.8 points per game. Behind Bass is Dominique Camp (12.0 ppg), Molly Neitzel (11.3 ppg) and Layne Ferrell (11.2 ppg). Bass also leads the Zips defensively pulling down 7.6 rebounds per game.
- Akron has overcome double-digit deficits to record a victory in five games this season, including Eastern Michigan (-18 | W, 60-43 | Jan. 11), Youngstown State (-17 | W, 61-44 | Nov. 18), Central Michigan (-13 | W, 80-65 | Jan. 18), Miami (-11 | W, 77-66 | Jan. 7) and Stetson (-10 | W, 58-50 | Dec. 18).
Home Sweet Home:
John E. Worthen Arena has been very good to the Cardinals for the past decade. Ball State has a record of 167-85 (.653) at Worthen Arena from 2004-present. In 11 seasons Brady Sallee has compiled a 102-50 (.658) record in Worthen Arena. His best season at home was in 2017- 18 when the Cardinals went 15-3 in Muncie. So far this season the Cardinals are undefeated at home with a 9-0 mark.
