Ball State University Athletics
Women's Baskeball Returns to the Road Sunday at Western Kentucky
December 09, 2023 | Women's Basketball
Ball State (6-2) at Western Kentucky (6-4)
December 10, 2023 >>E.A. Diddle Arena>Bowling Green, Ky.>> 3 pm ET
Opening Tip:
- Sunday's meeting with the Lady Toppers is the 12th-all-time. The Cardinals lead the all-time series, 7-4. Prior to the 2021-22 season the Cardinals and the Lady Toppers had faced each other for eight-straight seasons. During that stretch, the Cardinals were the only non-conference team Western Kentucky had faced every year since 2013-14. Ball State won its last meeting over Western Kentucky on Dec. 2, 2023 in Worthen Arena by a score of 82-76.
- The Cardinals are coming off a long road trip after playing at Saint Louis on Dec. 3 resulting in a 71-64 victory for Ball State. Ball State then traveled to Storrs, Conn., on Dec. 6 to take on the #17 team in the country, UConn resulting in a 90-59 loss for the Cardinals. Against the Huskie, Madelyn Bischoff was the top scorer with 12 points. Hana Mühl also got to be reunited with her sister Nika who is a senior for the Huskies. Hana finished the game with nine points at UConn.
- Western Kentucky owns a 6-4 overall record and recently fell to Oregon State 76-52 on Dec. 2. The Lady Toppers will have been on a one-week hiatus when facing the Cardinals on Sunday at 3 pm ET in E.A. Diddle Arena. Alexis Mead led WKU against Oregon State with 17 points.
- E.A. Diddle Arena has always brought the Cardinals a bit of luck in years past. As a matter of fact, Ball State upset Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2009 in Bowling Green, Ky. That same year Ball State had also defeated the Lady Toppers in E.A. Diddle Arena in regular season action game on Dec. 20 by a score of 72-71.
- Ball State will face four power five schools in non-conference action this season, two from the ACC — Notre Dame (Nov. 24) and Pitt (Dec. 19), one from the SEC Georgia (Dec. 21) and one from the Big East UConn (Dec. 6).
- It can be done, under the direction of 12th year head coach Brady Sallee the Cardinals have earned wins over six Power 5 schools — Minnesota (54-51, 2012-13), Iowa (77-72, 2015-16), Vanderbilt (88-79, 2017-18), Purdue (66-60, 2017-18) and Pitt (68-66 OT, 2022-23).
Ninth Game of the Season:
- In her first eight contests as a Cardinal, Nyla Hampton has stolen the ball 33 times and has dished out 33 assists. Hampton stole the ball eight times against Tennessee Tech (11/6/23) which marks a season best. Hampton is fifth in the nation currently in steals per game 4.0) and 7th in total steals (33).
- The Cardinals defense continues to be a driving force in their success along with handling the ball on offense. Ball State ranks 10th in the nation in turnover margin (7.71) and 8th in turnovers forced per game (24.0). Against #14 Notre Dame, the Cardinals forced the Irish to turn the ball over 29 times which is the most an
opponent has done to the Irish all season while holding Notre Dame to under 100 points.
- Ally Becki ranks 27th in the country and first in the Mid-American Conference in assists per game (5.6).
- Madelyn Bischoff ranks 11th in the country in 3-pointers per game (3.29) and 17th in 3-point field goal percentage (50.0).
Career Milestones:
- Ally Becki needs 163 points for 1,000, 120 assists and 84 rebounds to reach the 500 mark.
- Nyla Hampton needs 61 points for 1,000.
- Marie Kiefer has 104 blocks for her career -- needs one blocks to move into second place all-time and 48 to move into first place.
In the MAC:
The Cardinals sit atop of the Mid-American Conference with a 6-1 non-conference mark. Ball State is the only school in league play that has only one loss. As a team, the Cardinals rank first in the MAC in assists per game (16.0), bench points (27.0), field goal percentage (46.4), scoring margin (9.7), scoring offense (77.1), steals per game (12.1), turnover margin (7.71) and winning percentage (85.7). Ball State will play five more non-conference games before the league season starts. The Cardinals will open conference play Wednesday, Jan. 3 at Western Michigan. Tipoff is at 7 pm ET.
Next Game:
The Cardinals will take a well deserved week break from competition for finals week (Dec. 10-18) before returning to the court on Tuesday, Dec. 19 and Thursday, Dec. 21 as Ball State competes in Tampa Fla., in the Sun Coast Challenge. Ball State is set to face Pitt in its first game and then will close out play against Georgia. Both games are slated to begin at noon. After that, Ball State will go on a bit of a holiday break before closing out the New Year on Dec. 30 at home against Oakland City at 3 pm ET in Worthen Arena.
