INDIANAPOLIS – Porchia Green knew Ally Becki was special when the current Ball State women’s basketball standout was a freshman at Brownsburg high school in 2017. Green was an assistant coach for Ben Davis at the time, and her Giants were squaring off against Becki’s Brownsburg Bulldogs.
Becki dropped eight points, grabbed eight rebounds and swiped two steals in the Bulldogs’ overtime loss to the Giants, but Green felt the contest wouldn’t have even gone to an extra period were it not for the efforts of a freshman Becki.
Ever since that night, Green has kept her eye on “The Brownsburg Bucket.”
“She was hoopin’ hoopin’,” Green said. “She’s cold.”
The two have been linked by alma maters since Becki first stepped foot on Ball State’s campus back in 2021, as Green was a prominent member of the Ball State women’s basketball program from 2005-2009. Not only did Green play alongside current associate head coach Audrey McDonald-Spencer during the Cardinals’ 2009 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship win and subsequent first round NCAA Tournament victory against Pat Summit’s Tennessee Volunteers, but Green has a storied individual career herself.
Green was the 2008-09 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, a two-time All-MAC selection and ended her career with the 10th most points in program history. But the three most recent seasons have been where Becki has made her mark as one of the premiere players in the conference.
“Ally could go to the next level, like the WNBA,” Green said. “Overseas, hands down, she's going no matter what.”
Becki has earned All-MAC Third, Second and First Team honors during her first three seasons as a Cardinal, and as her senior season approaches, she knows her time to reach her ultimate personal accolade is running out.
“I’m trying to be an all-around player. The goal is a MAC Championship, NCAA [Championship] and MAC Player of the Year,” Becki said.
When Becki suited up for the Indianapolis-based City League’s Damien Center team July 31, she proved her objective toward improving her game on more levels than just scoring. Becki led her squad to a 66-49 win with 16 rebounds, nine points, five assists, three steals and two blocks.
While the 5-foot, 8-inch Becki averages 5.4 rebounds per game across her three seasons in the red and white, she said she was out to put up big numbers on the boards on the 31st to prove to her father that she was capable of out rebounding anyone on the same court as her.
Green said Becki’s focus on both ends of the floor is what makes her fellow Cardinals’ game most appealing to her from afar.
“She has a package, she can shoot, she can dribble, she can go pull up and she's a team player,” Green said. “You can tell she loves ball. She got that dog in her.”
Becki said she has been aspiring to reach MAC Player of the Year heights since she first joined the conference and witnessed future WNBA Draft pick Dyaisha Fair earn the accolade for Buffalo in 2022. As the only current Cardinal playing in a summer league, it’s clear that Becki is taking any step necessary toward reaching the pinnacle of her conference.
Becki had never played in a summer league before this year, but when her high school teammate Destiny Thomas asked her to join her Damien Center team, Becki was all in. Once she was granted permission by McDonald-Spencer and assistant coach Moriah Monaco, of course.
“They were like, ‘Go have fun, just don’t get hurt,’” Becki said with a laugh.
Despite being the only current Ball State women’s basketball player in the league, current assistant coach Mariah King joins her as another member of the program playing in the City League. King is heading into her second year as one of Ball State’s assistant coaches, and Becki still remembers one of her first bonding experiences with the former three-time Ohio Valley Conference Second Team member at Eastern Illinois.
Becki said when King first joined Ball State’s coaching staff, she challenged her to a game of one-on-one after a practice, something Becki has made a tradition during her three years in the program.
“She just buried me in the post,” Becki said. “I knew what I was up against. She’s got years of experience playing overseas, so I knew how good she was.”
And although King is a freshly-minted Cardinal, her ties to Ball State don’t start and stop with the current players and staff.
Green spent nearly 10 years playing professional basketball in Europe after graduating from Ball State in 2009, but her last season was a 2017-18 campaign in Romania. Once she became pregnant with her first of two children in 2018, she decided to call it quits on international travel.
Since then, she has been playing in city leagues in her local Indianapolis. In fact, it was during one of her last seasons in Romania when she met King.
Green described King as initially soft-spoken, but after spending lengthy time around her, she discovered that the Eastern Illinois alumna is funny and “swaggy.”
“This little orange thing made me travel the world, gave me a scholarship, speak different languages, meet friends and build relationships with people,” Green said.
Now, Green and King are on the same team in the City League, suiting up for “Catch the Stars.” In their August 1 matchup against the Breakfast Club, Green dropped a game-high 26 points along with 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals. King had 13 points, four rebounds and one assist.
Although Becki wasn’t in the building that night, Green couldn’t say enough about how highly she thinks of the Ball State senior. In fact, she wants to see Becki grab the MAC Player of the Year award, too, and she thinks the City League will only increase her chances.
“I think this gives her an edge,” Green said. “Not to say that she wasn't confident already, but now she’s played against pros and against some of the best in Indiana.”
Becki has been a consistent starter since day one with Ball State women’s basketball, but for her first two seasons in the program, she knew former All-MAC standouts Anna Clephane and
Thelma Dis Agustsdottir were the cornerstones of the Cardinals. Heading into her last dance in the red and white, she now realizes that she, Marie Kiefer and Madelyn Bischoff are the ones who best represent what Ball State women’s basketball is all about.
“We stuck around, stayed loyal and Brady has been building the team around us now,” Becki said. “ … It’s different, it’s a lot and it’s crazy that next year I’m not coming back. Being one of those players is crazy to me.
“I can’t believe it. I feel like everyone says this, but I feel like I just became a freshman. It flies by so fast, especially when you’re with your best friends.”
Ball State’s season will not officially begin until November, but the reality that Becki only has nine months left in Muncie is beginning to sink in.
Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kyle.smedley@bsu.edu or via X @KyleSmedley_.
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