Ball State University
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Western Michigan University
Women's Basketball Closes Out MAC Regular Season Road Play at Western Michigan Saturday
February 27, 2025 | Women's Basketball
| Ball State Women's Basketball at Western Michigan | |
| Game 29 at Western Michigan | Saturday, March 1 at 1 p.m. Live Stats | ESPN+ | Listen |
| Tickets and Gameday Info | N/A |
| Game Notes and Media Info | Ball State | Western Michigan |
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Opening Tip:
- Saturday's game against Western Michigan will mark the 94th time in program history the two schools have met with Ball State leading the all-time series record, 54-39. The Cardinals won their last meeting against the Broncos by a score of 61-51 just a month ago on Feb. 1 in Muncie.
- Ball State owns a 34-8 ledger over Western Michigan dating back to the 2004-05 season. Brady Sallee holds an 21-4 career mark against the Broncos.
- The last time the Cardinals lost to the Broncos in the MAC regular season was in Kalamazoo, Mich., which was on March 2, 2019 by a score of 72-54. Since then, Ball State has won nine-straight over Western Michigan.
- With the win at Eastern Michigan on Feb 15 the Cardinals secured their spot in the 2025 MAC Tournament in Cleveland (March 12-15). This marks the 35th appearance in the MAC Tournament in program history. Ball State has advanced to Cleveland 23 out of the past 25 seasons. The Cardinals are 24-33 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. This is the 10th time in current head coach Brady Sallee's tenure the Cardinals have punched their ticket straight to the MAC Tournament in Cleveland.
- Ball State is coming off of a 60-58 overtime win at Central Michigan Wednesday. Lachelle Austin led the team in scoring with 17 points while Marie Kiefer tied her career-high in rebounding with 16.
- After three-straight losses, WMU rebounded Wednesday with a 77-66 victory at home against Akron. The Broncos' Marina Asensio led the squad with 26 points. With only three games remaining in the MAC regular season, Western Michigan sits in eighth place in the league standings for the last seed in the MAC Tournament in Cleveland as of February. 27.
- A Ball State win at Western Michigan Saturday will clinch a share of the Mid-American Conference regular season title for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
- The Cardinals have been road warriors the past four years during Mid-American Conference action. Ball State owns a 35-11 (.767) ledger when playing league games on the road dating back to 2021 which was their best showing as the Cardinals went 9-1 that year.
19-2 at the Half:
The Cardinals own an 19-1 ledger when Ball State ends the first half with the lead. The two losses came against Columbia University and Toledo as the Cardinals held a halftime lead over both before losing in the fourth quarter.
NET Rankings:
The NCAA Division I net rankings have the Cardinals being ranked in the top 70 coming in at 69. Ball State has earned the highest net ranking out of all the schools in the Mid-American Conference.
The Possibility is Near:
With only four Mid-American Conference games left, Ball State remains atop of the league standings with a 12-2 MAC mark. The Cardinals are on pace to be crowned the MAC Regular Season Champions which hasn't been done since the 2002-03 season. It will mark only the third time in program history that the Ball State women's basketball team will have earned the regular season title the other year was in 2001-02.
Scouting Western Michigan:
- Shane Clipfell first year as the head coach of the Broncos was also Brady Sallee's first year at Ball State. Clipfell was familiar with the MAC as he was an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan for nine seasons.
- The Broncos are led in scoring by Marina Asensio (13.8 ppg) and Hannah Spitzley (13.6) ppg. Spitzley also leads the squad defensively averaging 5.3 rebounds per game.
- Western Michigan junior guard Marina Asensio had a career-high 26 points as the Broncos snapped a three-game losing streak with a 77-66 win over Akron at University Arena on Wednesday night. Asensio was 9-for-12 from the field, including 7-for-10 from three and dished out seven assists. Her seven triples were also a career-best mark. Graduate student Hanna Spitzley had 17 points and seven rebounds, while Alli Carlson had 16 points and four rebounds.
