Ball State University
Belmont University
WBB Welcomes Belmont to Worthen Arena Thursday for First Round of the WNIT
March 15, 2023 | Women's Basketball
Ball State (25-8) vs. Belmont (23-11)
Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT)
March 16, 2023 >>Worthen Arena>>Muncie, Ind.>>First Round
Opening Tip:
- Ball State will be making its eighth WNIT appearance under Ball State 11th-year head coach Brady Sallee and 11th overall (all since 2002). The Cardinals are 6-10 all-time in WNIT play winning a first round game in 2018 and then won two games to reach the final 16 of the 2013 event.
- Ball State enters the WNIT with a 25-8 overall record. The Cardinals went 14-4 in Mid-American Conference play and made it to the semifinal game of the 2023 Mid-American Conference Tournament for the second-straight season which was also under Sallee. The 20-win season marks the sixth time within the last eight campaigns he has reach the 20-win plateau.Â
- Brady Sallee, is the only head coach in program history to take the Cardinals to eight WNITs. He is also he program's winningest coach with 208 victories.Â
- Belmont comes to Ball State with a 23-11 season ledger. The Bruins went 17-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference and made it to the Hoops in the Heartland conference tournaments championship game losing to Drake, 89-71. Prior to that loss, the Bruins' were on a 16-game win streak.
- This is the first-ever meeting between Belmont and Ball State.
- The 2023 WNIT field features 64 NCAA Division I women's basketball teams. The field includes 30 teams that receive automatic berths - one berth from each of the nation's established conferences - and 33 at-large selections. All teams at the NCAA Division I level are considered for at-large berths, including those who are independent and/or are in the process of reaching full NCAA Division I status.
- A Cardinal win will advance Ball State to the second round of the WNIT for the first time since the 2018 season when BSU hosted Middle Tennessee in Worthen Arena winning by a score of 69-60 March 15, 2018.
Fast Facts:
- Redshirt senior Anna Clephane has 1,284 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 15.4 points per game.
 - Sophomore Marie Kiefer has proven to be a great defender for the Cardinals. She currently sits in thirrd place all-time in blocked shots with 98 and so far has 50 total this season. Kiefer averages 1.4 blocks per contest. Kiefer with her 50 blocks this season ranks third all-time in a single-season in the Ball State record books and she is fourth all-time with 98 in program history. Kiefer needs six to move into second all-time for career blocks with former Cardinal Renee Bennett (2013-17) with 104.Â
- Graduate senior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir has found her rhythm behind the arc again as she currently leads the team with 98 three's so far this season. Agustsdottir has 316 total 3-pointers for her career and sits in second place all-time. She needs eight more to 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. She enters the 2023 MAC Tournament ranked fifth in the nation in made 3-pointers (98), 10th in 3-pointers per game (2.97), and 22nd in 3-point field goal attempts (229).
A Look Back at 2022 WNIT:
The Ball State women's basketball team suffered a 93-70 season ending loss at Marquette in the first round of the 2022 postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) March 16 at the Al McGuire Center. Ally Becki led Ball State with 22 points.
Scouting Belmont:
Belmont is making its third WNIT appearance and first since 2014. The Bruins played in the last six NCAA Tournaments and were an automatic qualifier for both the 2014 and 2006 Postseason WNIT.
Belmont will be seeking its first WNIT win as the Bruins fell by a single point in both of its first two WNIT games. In their first-ever WNIT appearance in 2006, the Bruins were defeated 56-55 at Tennessee Tech. In its last WNIT appearance in 2014, Belmont dropped a 48-47 decision at the Big Ten Conference's Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana.
The Bruins are coming off their third consecutive conference tournament championship game appearance after reaching the Missouri Valley Conference title game this past Sunday. In its inaugural Hoops in the Heartland tournament in Moline, Illinois, last week, second-seeded Belmont defeated seventh-seeded Southern Illinois 70-64 in the quarterfinals before taking out third-seeded Northern Iowa 69-62 in the semifinals. Fourth-seeded Drake upset the Bruins 89-71 in the title game for the MVC's automatic bid to the Big Dance.
In its first year in one of the strongest conferences outside the Power Five, Belmont won its ninth regular season conference championship and sixth in seven seasons. The Bruins ended the regular season on a 14-game winning streak and held a 16-game winning streak, which was tied for the fifth-longest active winning streak in the nation, heading into championship Sunday.
Junior guard Destinee Wells, who was named to the MVC All-Tournament Team leads Belmont in scoring averaging 19.1 points per game.
