Ball State University Athletics
Saturday, January 3
DeKalb, IL
3 pm
Ball State University
11-4,3-0MAC
74
at
56
Northern Illinois University
2-11,0-2MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Ball St.
23
22
13
16
74
NIU
14
13
19
10
56
Photo by: Amber Pietz, Ball State Creative Services
Full Team Effort Earns WBB Road Win at Northern Illinois
January 03, 2026 | Women's Basketball
The Cardinals remain undefeated in #MACtion 3-0
DEKALB, Ill. - The Cardinals used a complete team effort with 10 different Cardinals scoring two points or more in a win at Northern Illinois Saturday afternoon. It marked the last time Ball State would travel to NIU as the Huskies will join the Horizon League next season.
Ball State (11-4, 3-0 MAC) took the lead over Northern Illinois at the 2:28 mark of the opening quarter and never looked back, eventually taking home a 74-56 Mid-American Conference road-win against the Huskies (2-11, 0-2 MAC) in the Convocation Center.
After the opening tip, the two teams collided a bit with the score tied 14-14 with less than three minutes remaining in the first frame. Bree Salenbien knocked down a 3-pointer that sparked a 5-0 run which led to BSU having the 19-14 edge over NIU to end the first quarter.
The Cardinals then used a 22-13 scoring spree in the second stanza to take a 45-27 advantage over the Huskies at intermission. It wasn't just BSU's offense that was causing the Huskies problems, it was also the Cardinals' defense holding Northern Illinois to only three field goals in the second stanza.
Although, the Huskies began to make a brief comeback at the start of the third period, Tessa Towers came to the Cardinals rescue in the paint scoring three straight layups which allowed Ball State to build back a 16-point (56-40) cushion over Northern Illinois at the 3:44 mark.
After a Grace Kingery layup with 3:08 left on the clock the Cardinals went cold on offense but remained hot on defense. Ball State would take a 58-46 edge over NIU into the final frame.
Towers and Kingery kept the Cardinals offense going in the fourth quarter and the Huskies struggled to respond eventually allowing BSU to come out on top over Northern Illinois.
For the game, Towers and Kingery led the Cardinals with 17-points apiece while Salenbien was not too far behind registering a 16-point performance. Defensively, Towers led with nine rebounds.
The Ball State women's basketball team returns home to Worthen Arena Wednesday for some mid-week #MACtion against rival Toledo at 6:30 pm ET.
Ball State (11-4, 3-0 MAC) took the lead over Northern Illinois at the 2:28 mark of the opening quarter and never looked back, eventually taking home a 74-56 Mid-American Conference road-win against the Huskies (2-11, 0-2 MAC) in the Convocation Center.
After the opening tip, the two teams collided a bit with the score tied 14-14 with less than three minutes remaining in the first frame. Bree Salenbien knocked down a 3-pointer that sparked a 5-0 run which led to BSU having the 19-14 edge over NIU to end the first quarter.
The Cardinals then used a 22-13 scoring spree in the second stanza to take a 45-27 advantage over the Huskies at intermission. It wasn't just BSU's offense that was causing the Huskies problems, it was also the Cardinals' defense holding Northern Illinois to only three field goals in the second stanza.
Although, the Huskies began to make a brief comeback at the start of the third period, Tessa Towers came to the Cardinals rescue in the paint scoring three straight layups which allowed Ball State to build back a 16-point (56-40) cushion over Northern Illinois at the 3:44 mark.
After a Grace Kingery layup with 3:08 left on the clock the Cardinals went cold on offense but remained hot on defense. Ball State would take a 58-46 edge over NIU into the final frame.
Towers and Kingery kept the Cardinals offense going in the fourth quarter and the Huskies struggled to respond eventually allowing BSU to come out on top over Northern Illinois.
For the game, Towers and Kingery led the Cardinals with 17-points apiece while Salenbien was not too far behind registering a 16-point performance. Defensively, Towers led with nine rebounds.
The Ball State women's basketball team returns home to Worthen Arena Wednesday for some mid-week #MACtion against rival Toledo at 6:30 pm ET.
Team Stats
BSU
NIU
FG%
.519
.396
3FG%
.375
.154
FT%
.818
.667
RB
37
23
TO
18
13
STL
3
8
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Basketball
/ Women's Basketball
/ Women's Basketball
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