Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Northern Illinois University
Women's Basketball Looks to Remain at the Top of the MAC at NIU Saturday
February 17, 2023 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 18 | Dekalb, Ill. | Convocation Center | 2 pm ET
Opening Tip:
- The Ball State women's basketball team looks to improve to a 13-1start in Mid-American Conference play for the first time in program history.
- Ball State is looking to extend its win streak to 11 when it travels to Northern Illinois Saturday for a 2 pm ET tip-off in the Convocation Center. The longest MAC regular season win streak was eight which happened in 2000-01, 2001-02, 2008-09 and 2022-23.
- Ball State women's basketball team will play in a nationally televised regular season game for the first time ever on ESPNU Wednesday, March 1, at 5 p.m. ET when it takes on Bowling Green at the Stroh Center.
- The Cardinals currently have 22 wins with five games left and the Mid-American Conference Tournament on the horizon, Ball State has the potential to have the best record in program history. The Cardinals are four wins away from tying the program record which is 26-9 in 2008-09.
- Graduate senior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir scored a career-high 34 points and tied the program's single-game 3-point record with nine to help lift Ball State past Ohio Wednesday night in Worthen Arena with a 78-53 win over the Bobcats.
- This will mark the 66th meeting in a series that began in 1982-83 when the Cardinals defeated the Huskies 86-83 on Jan. 26 in DeKalb, Ill. The Cardinals lead the all-time series record 42-23. The Cardinals defeated the Huskie in their first meeting this season 76-68 in Worthen Arena, Feb. 1.
- The Huskies recently took down Bowling Green Wednesday night by a score of 85-81. Chelby Koker led NIU with 18 points while Janae Poisson had 17 and A'Jah Davis finished with 16.
Fast Facts:
- Redshirt senior Anna Clephane has 1,168 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 15.0 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 86 and so far has 38 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 83 three's so far this season along with being ranked second in the nation. Agustsdottir has 301 total 3-pointers for her career and sits in second place all-time. She needs 23 more take the top spot which is currently being held by former Cardinal and current associate head coach Audrey Spencer (2006-10) with 323 3-pointers.
Sallee Successful in February:
Under Sallee, the Cardinals have a 49-30 (.611) overall record for the shortest month of the year. Sallee's most successful February was in 2019-20 after the Cardinals posted a 7-1 record that year.
MAC Tourney Time:
This marks the 33rd appearance for the Cardinals in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in program history. Ball State has advanced to Cleveland 21 out of the past 23 seasons. The Cardinals are 22-31 all-time in MAC Tournament play and have advanced to the MAC Tournament finals on six occasions.
Scouting Northern Illinois:
- NIU won it's third game out of four on Wednesday night, snapping Bowling Green's 11-game winning streak with an 85-81 win at the Stroh Center. It was the Falcons' first loss on their home court this season. NIU shot 53.8 percent from the field and made 13 three-pointers.
- A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill./Montverde Academy [Fla.]) has excelled over the last four games, averaging 18.8 points and 17.5 rebounds per game while shooting over 65 percent from the field. Davis is fourth in the nation in rebounding with 12.5 per game, with double-digit rebounds in 19 consecutive games. She is also fifth in the country with 17 double-doubles. Davis is 10th among active NCAA Division I players with 47 career double-doubles.
