As senior Ally Becki runs down the court, Ball State women’s basketball associate head coach Audrey McDonald-Spencer is letting the senior know how close she is to a triple-double.
Becki said she was focused on the number but wanted to make the right play and not force anything.
She grabbed rebound number 10 and hit senior Marie Kiefer driving to the rim for assist number 10.
Becki recorded the first triple-double since 2010 for Ball State women’s basketball in a Ball State 95-66 win over Memphis.
Becki finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and seven steals. Just three steals away from a quadruple-double.
Head coach Brady Sallee was totally unaware Becki was nearing a triple-double and said that might be the best part about it. It proves that the offensive flow was working so well, that he did not even notice the stats jumping off the page.
“It is the beauty of the ballet out there sometimes,” Sallee said. “She was really good at it. She’s been talking about wanting it since her freshman year. I remember we've had conversations when she's come close, probably a couple of times I took her out in a blowout. She probably could have gotten it, but she's been a team player her whole career.
“It's the reason that long after she's gone, it's going to be celebrated. Her name and this jersey. It's kind of just apropos, I kept on telling her it's going to happen, and [I’m] awfully proud that it did.”
In recording her first career triple-double Becki took little credit and instead shouted out her coaches and teammates. She said she was beating herself up with her shot, but her confidence grew in her team having trust in her.
“It means a lot,” Becki said. “Just to see how they celebrate me, it shows how unselfish this team is.”
Sallee entered the locker room after the game and for the first time in a while did not have much to tell his plays because he believed they were that good.
“At times I found myself stepping back and being a fan and loved what I saw,” Sallee said.
Sallee said the rhythm of the game on top of ball security and making shots and passes was a true joy to watch. The Cardinals had 29 assists whereas the Tigers only had 14.
“It was good stuff,” Sallee said. “If we continue to move the ball the way we did today, [and] we’ve got enough talent. How do you guard that? I think you saw it on full display today.”
Becki said getting three games under the Cardinals' belt has improved the offense with everyone meshing over the time played on the court.
A new face who is meshing well is graduate student Elise Stuck. She finished with a career-high 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting with a pair of assists. Stuck said adjusting to the Ball State offense has been easy.
“I know I'm gonna get the ball if I put myself in position, and that makes life very easy for me,” Stuck said.
Sallee said the Cardinals grind through preparation to understand the defensive schemes and saw that today on the court. He said he continues to be impressed with how Ball State is able to find multiple effort drives.
“I think that's a key to what we're doing offensively,” Sallee said about the defense. “[It was] really a key to everything that we're doing right now is what we're doing on the defense end.”
The Cardinals forced 21 turnovers and scored 22 points off the Tigers mistakes.
Ball State will travel to the University of Northern Iowa Nov. 16 and Sallee said he is expecting a test.
“You don't have time to celebrate a big win over Memphis, because tomorrow we walk in and UNI is on the film, and they'll have our attention to put together a game plan,” Sallee said. “The one thing I know about this team is we will go play hard and I think they're starting to establish that identity as a group, and it's starting to become just who they are.”
Contact Elijah Poe via email at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X@ElijahPoe4.
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