Saturday, March 1
Kalamazoo, MI
1 pm
Ball State University
22-7,14-2MAC
55
at
45
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Western Michigan University
11-16,7-9MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Ball St.
8
15
17
15
55
Western Mich.
4
6
18
17
45
Women’s Basketball Clinches Share of MAC Regular Season Title
March 01, 2025 | Women's Basketball
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - For the first time since the 2002-03 season, Ball State head coach Brady Sallee and the Cardinals have clinched a share of the 2025 Mid-American Conference regular season title with Ball State's 55-45 win at Western Michigan Saturday afternoon in University Arena.
With the win, the Cardinals' improved their overall record to 22-7 and 14-2 in MAC play. The Broncos fall to 11-16 overall and 7-9 in league action.
For the game, Alex Richard led all scorers with 29 points as the senior went 13-of-18 (.722) from the field. The only other player to reach double-digit scoring was Ally Becki with 10. Defensively, Marie Kiefer came through with 13 rebounds.
As a team, Ball State out-rebounded Western Michigan 45-30 while outpacing the Broncos 32-20 in the paint.
It comes to no surprise that as the regular season comes to an end the games continue to be closer. Today's game started off at a snail's pace scoring wise which saw Ball State take a slight four-point (8-4) edge over Western Michigan to end the first quarter of play.
The Cardinals' offense got warmer in the second frame as Becki and Richard did most of the scoring allowing Ball State to go up by eight (18-10) with just under two minutes to play. Ball State's defense continued to give WMU fits and BSU was winning the board game which opened more opportunities to score. Kiefer's old school 3-point play ended the first half increasing BSU's cushion to 13-points over Western Michigan at intermission.
After the break, Western Michigan opened the third stanza with a 7-3 run to make it (26-17) ball game at the 6:03 mark. Ball State answered basket-for-basket to keep a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter of play. As the Cardinals continued to dominate the paint, BSU was able to finish the third period up 40-28.
The fight to win continued in the final 10 minutes of action with Elise Stuck and Richard making their layups which allowed the Cardinals to keep a comfortable lead (48-37) halfway through the fourth period. The Broncos continued to play close to the Cardinals to come within eight (50-42) with 3:08 on the clock. Luckily, Richard tallied back-to-back layups putting BSU back up by 13 (55-42). Those plays ultimately stopped the Broncos from making any kind of a comeback the remainder of the contest.
The Ball State women's basketball team returns to Worthen Arena next week for its final two regular season home games of the year. The Cardinals will host the Buffalo Bulls Wednesday at 6:30 pm ET before hosting their annual senior day on Saturday versus Ohio at 1 pm ET.
With the win, the Cardinals' improved their overall record to 22-7 and 14-2 in MAC play. The Broncos fall to 11-16 overall and 7-9 in league action.
For the game, Alex Richard led all scorers with 29 points as the senior went 13-of-18 (.722) from the field. The only other player to reach double-digit scoring was Ally Becki with 10. Defensively, Marie Kiefer came through with 13 rebounds.
As a team, Ball State out-rebounded Western Michigan 45-30 while outpacing the Broncos 32-20 in the paint.
It comes to no surprise that as the regular season comes to an end the games continue to be closer. Today's game started off at a snail's pace scoring wise which saw Ball State take a slight four-point (8-4) edge over Western Michigan to end the first quarter of play.
The Cardinals' offense got warmer in the second frame as Becki and Richard did most of the scoring allowing Ball State to go up by eight (18-10) with just under two minutes to play. Ball State's defense continued to give WMU fits and BSU was winning the board game which opened more opportunities to score. Kiefer's old school 3-point play ended the first half increasing BSU's cushion to 13-points over Western Michigan at intermission.
After the break, Western Michigan opened the third stanza with a 7-3 run to make it (26-17) ball game at the 6:03 mark. Ball State answered basket-for-basket to keep a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter of play. As the Cardinals continued to dominate the paint, BSU was able to finish the third period up 40-28.
The fight to win continued in the final 10 minutes of action with Elise Stuck and Richard making their layups which allowed the Cardinals to keep a comfortable lead (48-37) halfway through the fourth period. The Broncos continued to play close to the Cardinals to come within eight (50-42) with 3:08 on the clock. Luckily, Richard tallied back-to-back layups putting BSU back up by 13 (55-42). Those plays ultimately stopped the Broncos from making any kind of a comeback the remainder of the contest.
The Ball State women's basketball team returns to Worthen Arena next week for its final two regular season home games of the year. The Cardinals will host the Buffalo Bulls Wednesday at 6:30 pm ET before hosting their annual senior day on Saturday versus Ohio at 1 pm ET.
Team Stats
BSU
WMU
FG%
.407
.315
3FG%
.063
.192
FT%
.625
.667
RB
45
30
TO
18
13
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Pts
29
FGM
13
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Basketball
/ Women's Basketball
/ Women's Basketball
/ Women's Basketball
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