Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Bowling Green (Greek Night)
WBB Looks to Take on the Falcons in the Battle of the Birds Saturday in Worthen
January 12, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Both the Cardinals and the Falcons are 3-0 in Mid-American Conference action
Ball State (13-2, 3-0 MAC) vs Bowling Green (9-4, 3-0 MAC)
January 13, 2024 >>Worthen Arena >Muncie, Ind.>> 1 pm ET
- The Ball State women's basketball team looks to remain undefeated in Mid-American Conference action while also extending its win streak to eight when it hosts the Bowling Green Falcons Saturday at 1 pm ET in Worthen Arena. Bowling Green will also enter the contest with an unblemished MAC mark at 3-0. The Cardinals are coming off of a come-from-behind 67-62 victory over Buffalo Wednesday while the Falcons recently defeated Eastern Michigan, 69-57 in midweek #MACtion.
- Ball State and Bowling Green have met a total of 73 times in program history with the Falcons leading the all-time series record, 48-26. In their last meeting in Worthen Arena, the Cardinals defeated the Falcons on Jan. 4, 2023 by a score of 81-73. Ball State has dropped its last two contests against Bowling Green after suffering losses on March 1 by a score of 76-81 and then in the semifinal game of the 2023 MAC Tournament on March 10 by a score of 61-70.
- Ball State and Bowling Green's first-ever meeting was in 1974-75, the Cardinals defeated the Falcons by a score of 58-52 in Terre Haute, Ind.
- Ball State head coach Brady Sallee owns a 5-2 record against Bowling Green at home from 2013-present.
- It is only fitting that junior transfer Nyla Hampton is 13 points shy of 1,000 and could reach the milestone against her former Bowling Green teammates. Hampton had 865 points when she came to Ball State and has scored 122 so far this season for the Cardinals.
- Currently there are four teams that are undefeated in MAC play — Ball State, Toledo, Bowling Green and Kent State have all begun league action with a 3-0 mark with the Cardinals having the best overall record at 12-2. The last time the Cardinals opened MAC play with a 4-0 ledger was in 204-15.
Home Sweet Home:
John E. Worthen Arena has been very good to the Cardinals for the past decade. Ball State has a record of 178-86 (.654) at Worthen Arena from 2004-present. In 12 seasons Brady Sallee has compiled a 113-51 (.659) record in Worthen Arena. His best season at home was last season as the Cardinals finished 15-1 at home.
Falcon to Cardinal:
Hampton made her mark into the Bowling Green record book over her three-year stint, ranking first in steals per game (2.64), second in total steals (243), 10th in assists per game (3.02) and 14th in total assists (478). She also ended the 2022-23 campaign ranked seventh in the nation in steals per game (1.6). A three-time MAC All-Defensive Team recipient, Hampton is nearing the 1,000-point plateau with 865 career points. She has also pulled down 131 rebounds, dished out 278 assists, and stolen the ball 243 times. According to HD Intelligence, which rates and provides analytics on every player at the NCAA Division I and II levels, Nyla is the highest rated transfer for a school outside of the power 5 conferences.
Next Game:
Ball State returns to the road Wednesday when it plays an 11 am ET game at Central Michigan. Wednesday's game against Central Michigan will mark the 87th time the teams have met, with the Chippewas leading the all-time series record, 44-42. The Cardinals have won five of their last six meetings against the Chippewas.
Three All-Stars Start:
Three of the Cardinals' juniors this season were tabbed to their respective states all-star squads in high school. Both Ally Becki and Madelyn Bischoff were selected to the Indiana All-Star team while fellow teammate Marie Kiefer was a Kentucky All-Star. All three juniors are in the starting lineup and have combined for 446 points thus far for the Cardinals, 168 rebounds, and 103
assists.
