Upcoming Schedule
Saturday Nov. 11 @ Cleveland State
Monday Nov. 13 vs. Missouri State
Wednesday Nov. 15 vs. Lipscomb
Going into his sixth year as the Ball State women’s basketball head coach, Brady Sallee feels his team has the pieces to be successful this year.
“Expectations are we win this thing,” Sallee said. “We feel like we are talented enough that if we are playing at our best, we can beat anybody.”
Although Ball State’s roster will look slightly different this year with the addition of seven new faces, Sallee has no doubts that this season’s team has what it takes. Amongst the seven is a pair of transfers brought in from University of San Francisco and California State University, Bakersfield.
“We want to build this thing right and have a solid foundation early in the season this year,” Sallee said. “I like the talent level we have in this diverse group.”
The Cardinals’ last season under Sallee saw more than 20 wins, to finish with an overall record of 21-11 (14-4 MAC). After a first-round loss to Buffalo in the Mid-American Conference tournament, the team closed out its season with a loss to Indiana in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
The team has been focusing on its athleticism more than usual since it began official practices in early October. Sallee sees a great deal of length and diversity within this season’s lineup as well.
“With the right combinations we are positionless,” Sallee said. “The better you make your players, the better the players make you.”
In preparation to his team’s first exhibition game of the season against Illinois-Springfield, Sallee would like to see skill development and individual talent, two things the team has been consistently working on.
With that being said, Sallee is aware that he will be coaching a different team this season and is ready for the challenges it may face.
“Because we have so many new faces, we are struggling right now to do the simple things,” Sallee said. “We have to be a lot better on defense. Taking care of the ball is going to be instrumental for us and right now we don’t do a great job at that.”
Although not big on team goals, Sallee sees a lot of potential in the women’s basketball program this season, which means his expectation of winning come tournament time hasn’t changed.
“We want to be playing at our best in March,” Salle said. “We just want to keep getting better and better until then.”
Ball State will start its season with an exhibition game against Illinois-Springfield on Nov. 1 at Worthen Arena, followed by the official start of the regular season when it takes on Cleveland State Nov. 11.
Contact Daric Clemens with comments at diclemens@bsu.edu.
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