Ball State University
Kent State University
WBB Plays in a Highly Anticipated MAC Rematch at Kent State on ESPNU Wednesday
March 05, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Tipoff is at 5 pm ET
Ball State (25-4, 14-2 MAC) vs. Kent State (18-8, 13-3 MAC)
March 6, 2024 >> M.A.C Center >>Kent, Ohio>> 5 pm ET
Opening Tip:
- The Ball State women's basketball team will play in a nationally televised regular season game on Wednesday, March 6, at 5 p.m. ET when it takes on Kent State at the M.A.C Center. The Cardinals are the only league school to have been chosen to play on ESPNU two years in row. The contest will be a rematch of a game played on Jan. 31, with the Cardinals defeating the Golden Flashes, 57-46, in Worthen Arena.Â
- Ball State closed out its home portion of the regular season on Saturday with a 75-47 victory over Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals went 13-1 in Worthen Arena and welcomed 28,173 fans which was more than their opponents.Â
 - The Cardinals have held a halftime lead in 13 of their 16 Mid-American Conference games so far this season. Ball State is 13-3 in those contests.Â
- For the seventh time under 12th-year head coach Brady Sallee and the second season in a row, the Cardinals have reached the 20-win plateau. Sallee's 20-win seasons at Ball State are — 22-10 (2015-16), 21-11 (2016-17) 25-7 (2017-18), 21-10 (2019-20), 20-13 (2021-22), 26-9 (2022-23) and 25-4 (2023-24).
- With only two Mid-American Conference games left, Ball State still sits in second in the league standings with a 14-2 mark just one game behind Toledo. The Cardinals could still be crowned the MAC regular season champions or have share of the title depending on the results in these next two games.
- Wednesday's game against Kent State will mark the 67th time in program history the two schools have me with the Golden Flashes leading the all-time series, 43-23. The last time the Cardinals won on the road against the Golden Flashes was on Jan. 20, 2018 by a score of 79-58.
 - Ball State head coach Brady Sallee is familiar with the Golden Flashes, he was an assistant women's basketball coach from 1996-2002 under former legendary head coach Bob Lindsay.
Among the Elite:
The Cardinals are getting noticed on a national level as Ball State continues to receive votes in the latest USA Today Sports Coaches Poll. Ball State is currently one of 10 NCAA DI teams that have a 13-2 record in conference play. The Cardinals are also one of three NCAA DI teams that have only four losses so far this season. Two of the Cardinals losses this season came against national powerhouses No. 14 Notre Dame and No. 9 UConn. Ball State also has the highest win percentage out of any NCAA DI program in the state of Indiana 24-4 (.862). This is the seventh week in a row the Cardinals have received votes.
1,000+ Points, 500+ Rebounds and 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 23rd all-time in rebounds with 533 and needs eight to move into 22nd while Becki sits at 24th place with 524 rebounds. Also, Becki is 23 assists away from 500 which would make her only the third player in program history to reach the 500 assist plateau. Becki will also become the only player to have 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.
Game Day Tibits:
- In 29 contests as a Cardinal, Nyla Hampton has stolen the ball 97 times and has dished out 140 assists. Hampton stole the ball eight times against Tennessee Tech (11/6/23) and Northern Illinois (2/7/24. Hampton is fourth in the nation in total steals (97) and ranks sixth in steals per game (3.34).
- The Cardinals as a team rank in the top 50 in these categories: 14th in turnover margin (5.52), 15th in winning percentage (86.2), 27th in steals per game (10.7), 30th in turnovers forced per game (20.03), 33rd in 3-pointers per game (8.1), 34th in bench points (24.3), 35th in scoring margin (13.2), 38th in 3-point attempts per game (24.2), 44th in field goal percentage (44.9) and 46 in assists per game (15.8).
One Game Away:
Ball State is one game away from tying the programs record for most wins in a season. The Cardinals knotted the program record last year after winning their first round WNIT game for their 26th victory in 2022-23. In 2008-09, the Cardinals also 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.
