Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
University of Akron
Women's Basketball Continues #MACtion with NYE Midafternoon Contest at Akron
December 30, 2025 | Women's Basketball
| Ball State at Akron | #MACtion | |
| Game 14 at Akron | Wednesday, December 31 at 12 pm ET |
| Gameday Info | Live Stats | ESPN+ | Listen |
| Game Notes and Media Info | Ball State | Akron |
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Return of the MAC:
- Wednesday's game against Akron will mark the 52nd time in program history the two schools have met with the Cardinals leading the all-time series, 32-19. Ball State has won 14 of the last 17 meetings against the Zips. Brady Sallee owns a 14-8 mark against Akron. Ball State last defeated Akron at home on Jan. 18, 2025 by a score of 80-57.
- The Cardinals opened Mid-American Conference action with a 78-74 victory over Eastern Michigan on Dec. 20 2025 in Worthen Arena marking it the fourth-straight season Ball State has won its league opener.
- Ball State has won five-straight MAC regular season games dating back to last year. The Cardinals haven't lost a regular season league contest since Feb. 22, 2025 which was in Muncie against Kent State.
Road Warriors:
Under head coach Brady Sallee the Cardinals have played well on the road for the last 14 years under his watch. The Cardinals are 115-77 (.597) from 2012 until present on the road. Ball State's best season playing away from home was in 2020-21 when the Cardinals posted an 11-2 mark. Ball State is 5-3 this season on the road including neutral site games with defeats at Arkansas State, IU Indy, Memphis, Pitt and Alabama A&M.
Where We Rank in the MAC:
Ball State remains at the top of the charts in combined team rebounds (46.9), defensive rebounds (32.1) and assists (18.54). The Cardinals sit in second on offense (75.5), opponent field goal percentage (.361) and stand in third in scoring margin (11.3). Bree Salenbien ranks fourth in the MAC in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (8.6 rpg) while Tessa Towers is fifth in rebounding (8.5 rpg).
Last Game Highlights:
The Ball State women's basketball team earned a gritty 78-74 victory Dec. 20 in Worthen Arena over Eastern Michigan in the Cardinals' Mid-American Conference opener. For the game, Grace Kingery led Ball State with 21 points after shooting 5-of-6 (.833) from behind the arc while Tessa Towers chipped in 20 points. Karsyn Norman dished out eight assists and Aniss Tagayi recorded seven rebounds. As a team, rebounding was a huge factor in today's outcome with the Cardinals leading that category over the Eagles, 39-20.
International Success:
The Cardinals have had plenty of international success under 14th year head coach Brady Sallee. We all remember Nathalie Fontaine the 6-2 guard from Stockholm, Sweden became Ball State's all-time leading scorer with 2,166 points. The 2016 MAC Player of the Year and AP honorable mention averaged 21.0 points per game and 10.2 rebounds while making over 50 percent of her shots. After Fontaine was Carmen Grande a native from Madrid, Spain who held onto the all-time assists record with 697 until Ally Becki surpassed her last season with 721 and we also cannot forget Thelma Dis Agustsdottir from Keflavik, Iceland who holds the all-time 3-point record with 325 treys. Agustsdottir also competed at the Celsius 3-point championship at the NCAA Tournament.
Scouting Akron:
- Ryan Gensler in his third campaign as Akron's head women's basketball coach for the 2024-25 campaign after being named the 11th coach in the program's 50-year history on March 29, 2023.
- The Zips are led by Ni'Rah Clark who is averaging 12.0 points per game and 5.9 rebounds followed by her teammate Monique Mitchell as she scores 10.5 points per contest. Akron opened the season with seven-straight losses before defeating Heidelberg on Dec. 3 by a score of 117-34.
- The Zips have the toughest schedule in the Mid-American Conference and are rated 59th in the NCAA in the category.
- Akron has connected on five or more three pointers in 122 of its last 163 contests overall. The Zips hit on a season-high 13 triples in an 117-34 victory versus Heidelberg (Dec. 3).
