Ball State University
Belmont University
WBB Welcomes Belmont for First-Ever WBIT Post Season Game Thursday in Worthen Arena
March 20, 2024 | Women's Basketball
 Ball State (28-5) vs. Belmont (25-8)
Women's Basketballl Invitation Tournament (WBIT)
March 21, 2024 >>Worthen Arena>>Muncie, Ind.
Opening Tip:
- Ball State will be making its ninth postseason tournament appearance under Ball State 12th-year head coach Brady Sallee. The Cardinals enter the WBIT with a 28-5 overall record. Ball State went 16-2 in Mid-American Conference play and made it to the semifinal game of the 2024 MAC Tournament for the third-straight season which was also under Sallee. The 20-win season marks the seventh time within the last nine campaigns he has reach the 20-win plateau. The 28 overall wins and 16 MAC victories are both program records.
- Brady Sallee, is the only head coach in program history to take the Cardinals to nine postseason tournaments. He is also the program's winningest coach with 237 victories.
- 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 semifinal game losing to Missouri State,63-48.Â
- This is the second-ever meeting between Belmont and Ball State. The Bruins came to Muncie last year for the first round of the WNIT where the Cardinals defeated Belmont, 101-86.
- The NCAA announced last July the creation of the WBIT. The 32-team postseason event will be played March 21 (first-round), March 24 (second-round) and March 28 (quarterfinals), with the highest-seeded teams hosting games at campus sites. WBIT semifinal and final games will be conducted at Butler University's historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on April 1 and 3. All games of the WBIT are broadcast on the ESPN platforms.
- A Cardinal win will advance Ball State to the second round of the WBIT where Ball State could play at home or on the road depending on the opponent. The Cardinals will face the winner of the Penn State versus George Mason contest.
-The Cardinals were placed as the No. 4 seed in the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament and were picked to host their first round on Thursday in Worthen Arena against Belmont. Tipoff is set for 4 pm ET.Â
- Both Ball State and Belmont reached its respective conference tournaments' semifinal rounds with the Cardinals falling to eventual champions Kent State Friday by a score of 65-50. The Bruins suffered a 63-48 set back in the semi's to Missouri State.Â
- If the Cardinals advance to the round of 16 they will face either No. 1 Penn State or George Mason. Ball State has never played Penn State and has competed against George Mason only once which was a 78-54 loss for the Cardinals in 2000-01.
- Since the 2012-13 season the Cardinals own a 5-8 overall mark in post season play beating teams like Minnesota, Northern Iowa, Iowa, Middle Tennessee and Belmont. The furthest BSU has advanced was the final 16 in the WNIT in 2012-13.Â
- Ball State is 3-1 when hosting a postseason game in Worthen Arena with defeats over Northern Iowa, Middle Tennessee, and Belmont with a second round WNIT loss to Purdue in 2017-18.Â
1,000+ Points, 500+ Rebounds, 500+ Assists:
Only 18 players have scored 1,000+ career points and have tallied 500+ career rebounds in program history at Ball State. Current players Ally Becki (17th player) and Annie Rauch (18th player) are among the elite in those categories. Rauch recently scored her 1,000th point on Saturday, March 2 against Eastern Michigan. Rauch is 22nd all-time in rebounds with 546 while Becki sits at 23rd place with 542 rebounds. Also, Becki reached 500 assists versus Kent State in the MAC semifinals Friday which made her only the third player in program history to reach the 500 assist plateau. Becki also became the only player to have 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.
Why Was The WBIT Created:
The creation of the WBIT ensures the NCAA is providing equitable postseason opportunities for women's basketball similar to that of men's basketball, which was a recommendation from the 2021 Gender Equity Report. NCAA supported men's and women's basketball postseason opportunities are now equitably available through a combination of the NCAA Division I Men's or Women's Basketball Championships (68 teams each) and men's or women's basketball postseason invitation tournaments (32 teams each). Additionally, as women's basketball continues its growth trajectory, opportunities, and events like this support our three strategic goals of transformational student-athlete experience, quality competition and memorable championships.
