Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Northern Illinois University
Women's Basketball Looks to Improve to 3-0 in #MACtion at Northern Illinois Saturday
January 02, 2026 | Women's Basketball
| Ball State at Northern Illinois | #MACtion | |
| Game 15 at Akron | Saturday, January 3 at 3 pm ET |
| Gameday Info | Live Stats | ESPN+ | Listen |
| Game Notes and Media Info | Ball State | Northern Illinois |
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Return of the MAC
- This will mark the 69th meeting in a series that began in 1982-83 when the Cardinals defeated the Huskies 86-83 on Jan. 26 in DeKalb, Ill. The
Cardinals lead the all-time series record 43-25. In their lone meeting last season, Ball State defeated NIU by a score of 81-62 at the Convocation Center on Jan. 25, 2025.
- In his last 13 seasons, Brady Sallee owns an 18-8 mark against the Huskies.
- It may be cold outside but the Cardinals tend to get hot in the month of January under 14th-year head coach Brady Sallee. Sallee owns an overall record of 77-29 (.723) in the month of January dating back to his first season in 2012-13.
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 116-77 (.598) 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 6-3 this season on the road including neutral site games with defeats at Arkansas State, IU Indy, Memphis, Pitt, Alabama A&M and Akron.
Last Game Highlights:
- Tessa Towers collected her sixth double-double of the season with a career best 22-points and 13 rebounds against the Zips.
- Violeta Rojas registered a personal high 10 points.
- For the game, Ball State controlled the ball very well having only nine turnovers while Akron struggled in that category committing 16 miscues. The Cardinals out- rebounded the Zips 50-35 including 35 defensive rebounds.
- Ball State saw six different Cardinals reach double-digit scoring.
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.
2-0 in the MAC:
The Cardinals have opened their Mid-American Conference season with a 2-0 ledger for the fourth-straight season and the 21st time in program history. Ball State has won six-straight MAC regular season contests dating back to last year with its last lost being against Kent State by a 60-54 decision on Feb. 22, 2025.
Scouting Northern Illinois:
- Jacey Brooks is in her first season as the head coach of the NIU women's basketball program. Brooks came to DeKalb on April 1 after two seasons as the associate head coach at Buffalo and helping guide the Bulls to the 2025 Postseason WNIT Championship. She compiled a 79-32 record in four seasons as the head coach at SUNY Cortland from 2018-23. The Red Dragons made the NCAA Division III tournament three times, advancing to the second round twice.
- The Huskies are led in scoring by Nevaeh Wingate who is averaging 12.1 points per contest and 5.6 rebounds. Nadechka Laccen follows Wingate with an 11.4 point average per contest.
-NIU will leave the MAC at the end of the season and join the Horizon League.
