Ball State University
Troy University
Women's Basketball Heads to Troy for First Road Contest of the Season
November 10, 2023 | Women's Basketball
- Saturday's contest will be the second for Ball State and the first for Troy. The Cardinals are coming off of an impressive 97-64 victory over Tennessee Tech Monday in Worthen Arena for their season opener. Today's contest will be the first-ever meeting between Ball State and Troy.Â
- Monday's win saw six players scored in double figures with Alex Richard leading the way with 18. 54 of Ball State's points came in the paint. The Cardinals had 21 assists on 36 makes from the field, which included assists from seven players. Ball State forced Tennessee Tech into 26 turnovers, scoring 31 points off those miscues.Â
- Ball State recently was picked to finish second in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll while Tennessee Tech was picked first in the preseason Ohio Valley Conference.
- Ball State women's basketball head coach Brady Sallee is beginning his 12th year at Ball State, returns 10 players from a record-setting squad that saw the Cardinals finish 26-9 with a 14-4 Mid-American Conference ledger. The Cardinals' 26 wins a season ago tied the program record for most wins in a season. Ball State advanced to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament and the second round of the postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) for the first time since 2018. The 20-win season also marked the sixth time in the last eight years Sallee reached the 20-win plateau.
- Ball State was recently picked 11th in the College Insider Preseason poll while Tennessee Tech was tabbed to the 23rd spot.Â
- Troy is a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans return eight players while bringing in five newcomers for a 13-player roster. Troy finished the 2022-23 season with an overall record of 17-13 and a 12-6 league mark.Â
Second Game of the Season:
- For only the fourth time in 12 seasons Brady Sallee and the Cardinals have started the season with a 1-0 record.Â
- This marks the first-ever meeting between Ball State and Troy.
- Marie Kiefer needs one block to reach the 100 career milestone.
- The Cardinals have played on Nov. 11 only twice owning a 1-1 record. The last time Ball State played on this date was in 2018 resulting in a 67-62 victory for the Cardinals over Cleveland State.
Home Sweet Home:
John E. Worthen Arena has been very good to the Cardinals for the past decade. Ball State has a record of 175-85 (.654) at Worthen Arena from 2004-present. In 12 seasons Brady Sallee has compiled a 110-50 (.659) record in Worthen Arena. His best season at home was last season as the Cardinals finished 15-1 at home.Â
MAC-SBC Challenge:
The Mid-American Conference and Sun Belt Conference have introduced the MAC-SBC Challenge, a scheduling alliance in the sports of men's and women's basketball, to take place during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. The 12 MAC men's and women's basketball teams will face off against 12 Sun Belt teams in a pair of contests each year, with each game being carried on an ESPN platform.
From Indiana:
The Cardinals' roster includes six players and one coach from the state of Indiana
- Audrey Spencer
Scouting Troy:
- Troy sits in second in the preseason Sun Belt Conference poll.
- Makayia Hallmon, Ja'Mia Hollings and Tai'Sheka Porchia all were named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Teams.
- Hallmon led the squad earning First Team All-Sun Belt honors after starting 29-of-30 games last season for Troy.
- Troy enters 2023-24 after ranking first in the SBC in points (83.3), rebounds (50.9), steals (11.6) and offensive rebounds (21.6). They also ranked seventh in the nation in bench points per game at 28.5 and 18th in turnovers forced at 20.1.Â
- Troy's roster sees eight returners with five critical acquisitions from the transfer portal, including two from SBC foes Arkansas State (Leilani Augmon) and Georgia State (Zay Dyer).
- Today's contest between Ball State and Troy is part of the MAC-SBC Challenge.Â
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