Ball State University
Anderson University (IN) (Anderson Community Night/Ugly Christmas Sweater)
WBB Wraps up Non-Conference Play Thursday at Home Against Anderson
December 18, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Ball State (7-4) vs. Anderson University (5-5)
Dec. 19, 2024>>Worthen Arena>>6:30 pm ET>>Muncie, Ind.
Opening Tip:
- Our 7-4 Cardinals return to Worthen Arena one final time before the 2025 Mid-American Conference season begins on Jan. 1 at Miami. Ball State welcomes Anderson University (5-5) for a community night that will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Tickets are on sale now for a $1.00.Â
- This is the first-ever meeting between Anderson and Ball State. Anderson is located just 17.5 miles east of Muncie. The Ravens are a member of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and a member of NCAA Division III.Â
- Behind true freshman Grace Kingery's 23-point performance, the Cardinals were able to bring home the 71-44 road victory Sunday afternoon at Northern Kentucky. It was Kingery's first start as a true freshman, she scored 17 of her 23 points in the first half. She drained seven 3-pointers which ranks sixth in the Cardinals' single-game record books.
- The Ravens are coming off of an 83-67 loss at Rose-Hulman Saturday. Anderson was led offensively by Izzy Davis who had 17 points while teammates Sarah Sewak tallied 15 points and Bella Larrison finished the night with 10.
- The NCAA Division I net rankings have been released (Dec. 8) with the Cardinals being ranked in the top 70 coming in at 68. Ball State has earned the highest net ranking out of all the schools in the Mid-American Conference.
- The month of December has been good to the Cardinals their last two seasons. Ball State owns a 13-4 ledger during the festive holiday month from 2022- present.
- The Ball State women's basketball team opens its 2025 18-game MAC campaign which will include nine games at home and nine on the road over a 10-week span with a break in February for the second year of the Sun Belt Conference Challenge on Feb. 8. The Cardinals will start conference action at Miami (Jan. 1). Ball State's home league opener is slated for Jan. 4 versus Central Michigan and then BSU will close out MAC play in Worthen Arena against Ohio (March 8).Â
It's Hard Not to Look Ahead:
The Cardinals will play against longtime rival the Miami RedHawks in Millett Hall on Jan. 1 at 1 pm ET in their league opener. The Cardinals are 7-5 in their MAC openers under 13th year head coach Brady Sallee and 3-2 when opening league play on the road. - The last time Ball State opened Mid-American Conference play against Miami was on Jan. 2, 2000 in Oxford, Ohio. The Cardinals won that meeting over the RedHawks, 77-65. The last time these two teams met was on Jan. 24, 2024 resulting in a 91-56 victory for BSU in Muncie. The game against Miami will mark the 74th time in program history the two schools have met with the RedHawks leading the all-time series 40-33.
Sideline Notes:
- With the win over Texas A&M, Ball State head coach Brady Sallee has now defeated a Power 5 conference team eight times during his tenure with the Cardinals — Minnesota (54-51, 2012-13), Iowa (77-72, 2015-16), Vanderbilt (88-79, 2017-18), Purdue (66-60, 2017-18), Pitt (68-66, 2022-23), Pitt (73-62, 2023-24), Georgia (52-51, 2023-24) and Texas A&M (75-62).
- In the second quarter against Columbia University on Nov.25, senior Marie Kiefer became Ball State women's basketball's all-time blocks leader with 153 total blocks passing former Cardinal Tamara Bowie who owned the record of 152 since 2003.
- The Cardinals welcomed their first twin duo to the roster last season after welcoming Hailey and Olivia Smith. The twosome are from Fishers, Ind., and attended Fishers High School. Hailey was an Indiana Junior All-Star. Olivia helped the Tigers to the 2021-22 Hoosier Crossroads Conference Championship after scoring 10 points in a victory over Avon. She was also named to the First Team HCC All-Conference Team along with her twin sister Hailey.
- For the second consecutive season, the Ball State women's basketball team will host a nationally televised regular season contest when Mid-American Conference rival Toledo visits Worthen Arena on Monday, Jan. 20 at 11 a.m. ET. This will also be the third season in a row the Cardinals will play on a national stage. Ball State has been chosen to display its past success on ESPN2, ESPNU and CBS Sports Network. Last year, Ball State won both of its nationally televised contests beating Toledo, 65-61, in Muncie on CBSN and Kent State on the road on ESPNU by a score of 75-71.Â
Lachelle Austin Nearing 1,000 Career Points:
The Cardinals welcomed transfer Lachelle Austin to its 2024-25 roster this season. Austin, a senior, is familiar with the Mid-American Conference, playing three years at Eastern Michigan. Austin was one of the Eagles top scorers and has scored in double figure in six of the Cardinals' seven contests thus far this season. Austin for her career has 926 points and needs just 74 to reach 1,000.
