Ball State University
University of Akron
WBB Heads to Cleveland for 2023 MAC Tournament; Faces No. 6 Akron Wednesday
March 07, 2023 | Women's Basketball
The Cardinals will play quarterfinal game No. 4 30 minutes following game No. 3
#3 Ball State (24-7) vs. #6 Akron (17-12)
Mid-American Conference Tournament
March 8-11, 2023 >>Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse>>Cleveland, Ohio
Opening Tip:
- The Cardinals and the Zips have met a total of four times in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in 2005, 2006, 2013 and 2014. Ball State has won two of the four meetings.Â
- The last time Ball State and Akron met in the MAC Tourney was in 2014. That year the Cardinals were the No. 5 seed while the Zips were the No. 3 seed. The two programs met in the championship game March, 15, 2014 resulting in a 79-68 loss for the Cardinals.Â
- The last time Ball State was the No. 3 seed in the MAC Tournament was in 2018. That year the Cardinals fell to No. 6 Western Michigan on March 7 by a score of 65-54. Although, the Cardinals are the No. 3 seed they finished tied with Bowling Green for second in the MAC end of the year standings.Â
- The Cardinals won their two-game MAC regular season series over the Zips this year. The first meeting was on Jan. 25 in Worthen Arena resulting in a 89-66 victory for Ball State. BSU then registered a 61-56 decision at Akron on Feb. 11. That game redshirt senior Anna Clephane scored a career best 26 points.
- This marks the 33rd appearance 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. Ball State defeated Bowling Green in 2009 in the MAC Tournament Championship game. This is the eighth time in current head coach Brady Sallee's tenure the Cardinals have punched their ticket straight to the MAC Tournament in Cleveland.
- Ball State is two games away from tying the programs record for most wins in a season. In 2008-09, the Cardinals went 26-9 under the direction of former head coach Kelly Packard. Current associate head coach, Audrey Spencer was the starting guard for that team.
- Ball State's 24-7 record is the second best start in program history. Currently, there are only eight Division I women's basketball programs in the country that have suffered only seven losses.
- Wednesday's game against Akron will mark the 48th time in program history the two schools have met with the Cardinals leading the all-time series, 28-19. Ball State has won 10 of the last 13 meetings against the Zips. Brady Sallee owns an 10-8 mark against Akron.
- The last time Ball State pulled off an upset in the Mid-American Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed was in 2003 when the Cardinals defeated No. 2 Miami by a score of 93-84 in the semifinals. Ball State then fell to No. 4 Western Michigan in the championship game, 81-76. The last time a No. 3 seed won the MAC Championship was in 2014 when No. 3 Akron defeated No. 5 Ball State, 79-58.
- A Cardinal win will send Ball State to the semifinal round for the second-straight season. The third-seeded Cardinals will play the winner of quarterfinal game No. 3 against the No. 2 seed Bowling Green Falcons or the No. 7 seeded Eastern Michigan Eagles. Ball State split its two-game series against the Falcons and the Cardinals won their lone meeting this season versus Eastern Michigan.
 - The last time the Cardinals faced the Falcons at the MAC Tournament was in the semifinal round in 2014. Ball State pulled off the upset as the fifth-seed over the top-seeded Falcons that year by a score of 73-55.
- If Ball State were to face Eastern Michigan in the MAC Tournament semifinals it will be the first time the two programs have met since the 2020 season when the Cardinals were the No. 2 seed and fell to the No. 7 seeded Eagles, 64-63.
- Ball State owns a 7-4 record in its bracket for the 2023 MAC Tournament after earning regular season victories over No. 8 Buffalo, No. 5 Northern Illinois, No. 4 Kent State, No. 2 Bowling Green and No. 6 Akron. Both the Ball State women's and men's basketball teams locked up spots in the MAC Tournament as one of the top four seeds for the the third time in six years, prior to that both teams had not accomplished that feat since 2018.
Last Time They Met:
- No. 5 Ball State 73, No. 1 Bowling Green 55 (2014 MAC Semifinals)
- No. 2 Buffalo 75, No. 2 Ball State 79 (2022 MAC Finals)
- No. 5 Ball State 71, No. 1 Toledo 66, (2022 MAC Semifinals)
- No. 5 Ball State 60, No. 4 Northern Illinois 54 (2022 MAC Quarterfinals)
- No. 3 Akron 79, No .5 Ball State 68 (2014 MAC Championship)
- No. 7 Eastern Michigan 64, No .3 Ball State 63 (2020 MAC Quarterfinals)
- No. 5 Ball State 73, No .12 Kent State 38 (2014 MAC First Round)
