After taking down Big Ten foe Purdue on Dec. 4, Ball State women's basketball received national recognition by earning a vote in the Associated Press Top 25 poll early Monday afternoon.
The Cardinals are the only Mid-American Conference team to receive votes all season, and can add the accolade to their 9-0 start which has featured victories over Purdue, Vanderbilt, Butler and Missouri State.
Ball State is also one of just four mid-majors to receive votes in the poll. Only Green Bay was ranked in the top 25 (21), but South Dakota State and Florida Gulf Coast also gained votes.
Last week, senior forward Moriah Monaco was named MAC West Player of the Week for her 23 and 18 point performances against Butler and Purdue.
This past week, Ball State also had victories over Southeast Missouri State and Oakland City. The RedHawks followed their loss to the Cardinals by almost taking down Big 12 foe Kansas on Sunday afternoon.
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Ball State junior guard Carmen Grande currently ranks second in the country in assists per game, averaging 9.6 per contest. Her assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.53 is good for 49th best in the nation and No. 1 in the MAC. Grande is also tied for 37th best in the country with 3 steals per game.
The Cardinals also rank 21st in the country in scoring offense, averaging 83.4 points per game this season.
Ball State's one vote came from Mike Carmin of the Lafayette Journal & Courier, placing the the Cardinals at No. 25 in his ballot. Carmin witnessed Purdue fall to Ball State at Mackey Arena.
The Cardinals are off until Dec. 18 when they host Austin Peay at 11 a.m. before finishing off non-conference by hosting Western Kentucky on Dec. 21 at 7 p.m.
Contact Sam Barloga with comments at sabarloga@bsu.edu or on Twitter @SamBarloga.
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