WBB Earns 20th Victory of the Season with Authoritative 83–68 Road Win over Eastern Michigan

Tuesday, February 10

Ypsilanti, MI

6:30 pm

Ball State University

20-5,11-1MAC

Eastern Michigan University

11-12,4-8MAC

Ball St.

Eastern Mich.

WBB Earns 20th Victory of the Season with Authoritative 83–68 Road Win over Eastern Michigan

February 10, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

With the win, the Cardinals have clinched a spot at the 2026 Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland

YPSILANTI, Mich. - The Ball State women's basketball team (20-5, 11-1 MAC) secured an 83–68 victory over Eastern Michigan (11-12, 4-8 MAC) on Tuesday night in the George Gervin GameAbove Center. The win marks the Cardinals' 10th consecutive regular-season victory over the Eagles and maintains their position near the top of the Mid-American Conference standings.

With tonight's victory, Ball State head women's basketball coach Brady Sallee has officially reached the 20-win mark for the ninth time in 14 seasons — Sallee's 20+ win seasons at Ball State are — 22-10 (2015-16), 21-11 (2016-17) 25-7 (2017-18), 21-10 (2019-20), 20-13 (2021-22), 26-9 (2022-23), 20-2 (2023-24), 26-8 (2024-25) and 20-5 (2025-26).

The Cardinals opened the contest with an early scoring surge building a 13-4 lead over Eastern Michigan by the 4:28 mark of the first quarter, fueled by veteran Tessa Towers. Her dominance in the paint continued a streak of strong interior play, while Bree Salenbien and Karsyn Norman, kept the Eagles off-balance with a high-tempo transition game. Ball State continued to dictate the pace to end the first quarter ahead of the Eagles, 19-11.

The momentum carried into the second stanza as the Cardinals found themselves up by 14-points (41-27) with 2:22 remaining in the half. Salenbien, playing in her home state, put on a show with 10 points in the second period, helping BSU head into halftime with a 32-22 advantage.

Ball State continued to control the tempo in the second half by neutralizing Eastern Michigan's top offensive threats, Sisi Eleko and Peyton Hill. By the midpoint of the third quarter, Ball State held a 54–42 lead, effectively keeping the Eagles at a double-digit distance for the remainder of the contest.

All-in-all the Cardinals' high-tempo offense and disruptive defense forced Eastern Michigan out of their rhythm for the full 40 minutes, with Ball State's early dominance effectively sealing the road victory.

Towers anchored the offense with a highly efficient 22 points on 11-of-18 shooting, while Salenbien matched her with 22 points of her own. Norman delivered one of her standout conference performances, finishing with 18 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

Ball State shot 48% from the floor and dominated the interior with 52 points in the paint. The Cardinals also controlled the glass, securing 46 total rebounds, including 30 on the defensive end.

The Ball State women's basketball team will return home Saturday when it hosts Bowling Green at 11 am ET in Worthen Arena. The contest is part of a double-header with the Ball State men's basketball team who will host Kent State at 2 pm ET.