Ball State University
University at Buffalo
Women's Basketball Closes MAC Regular Season Play on the Road at Buffalo Saturday
March 08, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Ball State (26-4, 15-2 MAC) vs. Buffalo (17-11, 10-7 MAC)
March 9, 2024 >> Alumni Arena >>Buffalo, N.Y.>> 2 pm ET
Opening Tip:
- The Cardinals are coming off of a 75-71 win against the Golden Flashes Wednesday in from of a national audience on ESPNU.Â
- Ball State improved to 26-4 overall and 15-2 in Mid-American Conference action. Its is the second-straight season the Cardinals have earned 26 wins which ties the program record for most victories in a season. Also, the 15 league wins is the most in program history.
- Ball State closed out its home portion of the regular season last 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 14 of their 17 Mid-American Conference games so far this season. Ball State is 14-3 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 26-4 (2023-24).
- With only one MAC games left, Ball State still sits in second in the league standings with a 15-2 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 after Saturday's games.
- Saturday's game against Buffalo will mark the 38th time in program history the two schools have met, with the Cardinals leading the all-time series, 21-16.
- Ball State has not lost on the road at Buffalo since the 2018-19 season when the score was 77-65 on Jan. 16, 2019. Since then, the Cardinals have brought home a victory. Ball State and Buffalo's first-ever meeting was on Jan. 30 at Buffalo in 1998-99.
1,000+ PTS, 500+ RBS & 500+ ASST.
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 537 and needs four to move into 22nd while Becki sits at 24th place with 529 rebounds. Also, Becki is 21 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.
Career Milestones:
- Ally Becki needs 21 assists 500 mark.
- Marie Kiefer has 130 blocks for her career -- needs 24 to move into first place.
If the MAC Tourney was Today:
If the Mid-American Conference Tournament were to start today the Cardinals would be the No. 2 seed. Ball State would face the No. 7 seed which is currently held by Western Michigan. That contest would be Game No. 3 of the quarterfinal round in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cardinals last played the Broncos in the quarterfinals on March 7, 2018 which resulted in a 65-54 loss for Ball State.Â
MAC Tourney Appearances:
This season will mark the 34th appearance in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in program history. Ball State has advanced to Cleveland 22 out of the past 24 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.
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