Monday night’s contest with Old Dominion marked the beginning of the 2024-25 season for Ball State women’s basketball.
Ball State and Old Dominion competed in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Challenge.
Although the Cardinals defeated the Monarchs, it did not come easy for the pre-season MAC favorites. Old Dominion battled all four quarters, but Ball State came away with a 60-46 victory.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
Shaking off the rust.
The Cardinals started off the night relatively slow, shooting 15-for-28 from the field and only 2-for-9 from beyond the three-point line. Seniors Ally Becki, Lachelle Austin and Alex Richard all had 9 points pacing Ball State in the first half.
The defense was strong for both squads, adding to the already present offensive woes. Ball State began the night with an 8-for-0 run before surrendering the first Monarchs point via free throws from junior Kelsey Thompson. The Cardinals were not the only team struggling on offense, with Old Dominion only shooting 9-for-30 from the field in the first half.
Old Dominion forced 11 turnovers in the first half alone. A high number when compared to the 14.3 per game Ball State gave up last season. The eye-brow raiser, though, came from the two shot-clock violations committed by the Cardinals in the second half.
With 5:06 to go in the first half, Ball State led only 24-21. The Cardinals went on a 15-2 run to close out the remaining five minutes and took a 39-23 lead into the break. Momentum stayed on the Cardinals’ side for the remaining 20 minutes. Mistakes were cleaned up, but it was a shaky start for what should be one of the top teams in the MAC. It still is only the first game of the season, so there is no reason for concern yet.
The defense is back, and it still sets the tone.
Ball State led the MAC last season in turnover margin and forced just under 24 turnovers per game. That same stifling defense returned tonight for head coach Brady Sallee and his team. Senior Marie Kiefer, who tallied up 41 blocks last season, returned with the same defensive dominance. Kiefer had four blocks, leading the Cardinals and Monarchs on the floor.
Kiefer, along with Richard, led the way defensively. Richard added one block of her own and Becki tallied a steal, as did graduate student Maliyah Johnson and junior Sydney Bolden. Austin also tallied one block and one steal.
Old Dominion averaged 64 points per game last season, but Ball State held them to only 46. The Monarchs shot 37.4 percent as a team last season and Ball State held them to 25 percent. Old Dominion gave up the ball 20 times, slightly higher than the 16.8 mark they averaged last season.
Some of that may be due to it being the first game of the season, but the Cardinals have been known as one of the top defensive teams in the MAC annually.
Newcomers slide in with “Core Four.”
Only three out of four players of the “Core Four” were active with senior Madelyn Bischoff out. The other three seniors returned where they left off last March and Becki led the way offensively with 13 points
Transfers Austin, Johnson and Elise Stuck, along with freshman Zuri Ransom got comfortable quickly. Austin scored 11 points in 35 minutes. Johnson scored four points in 16 minutes off the bench and Stuck tallied 10 points, two rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes.
Stuck and Austin started tonight for Sallee with the loss of Bischoff. Stuck will likely stay in the starting five throughout the season after her performance. Depending on the condition of Bischoff, Austin could find herself staying in the starting five as well. Austin did give up four turnovers, which was stuffled by her seven rebounds, two assists and a team-leading three steals. Her playmaking ability and ability to create separation jumped out in her play Monday.
Ransom came off the bench and tallied five points and an assist in her Ball State debut. The freshman from Evanston, Illinois slid right into Salle’s scheme. It will be interesting moving forward to see if Ransom continues to get minutes or if the return of Bischoff will stifle those chances.
Ball State will continue its home stand Nov. 8 against IU Indy following the end of the men’s game.
Contact Logan Connor via email at logan.connor@bsu.edu or via X @_loganconnor
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