WACO, Texas – Ball State women’s basketball head coach Brady Sallee entered the press conference room and gave his opening statement about the first-round loss in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament to Ole Miss.
Sallee said he would answer any question about the loss, but the Cardinals were more upset about the seniors who played their final game in a Ball State uniform.
No. 12 Ball State lost to No. 5 Ole Miss 83-65 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
“The group I just got to coach this year, and a little bit longer than that, is something that coaches only dream of,” Sallee said.
Senior Madelyn Bischoff said the 2024-25 season is something she will remember for the rest of her life. Even if she said the loss was sad, she said she was glad to be able to finish her collegiate career next to her best friends.
“We accomplished everything we wanted to, and I'm forever grateful for that,” Bischoff said.
He said the whole group of seniors made a good program, into a great one. They changed the program through their playing, but also their loyalty. Sallee said there will not be too many stories like the one Ball State has with the transfer portal playing a large role in collegiate athletics.
Senior Ally Becki said the friendships she has created will ring true in group chats that will last forever. Becki said the four years flew by, and she found it hard to put into words.
The Brownsburg native said she will forever be grateful to the Ball State program, which changed her life through the coaches and teammates.
Becki finished with a game-high 19 points.
Becki said she plans on hanging up her jersey in the small box the seniors received on senior night. But Sallee said the real jersey that will hang will be a little bigger than a small box.
“It's funny. I'm listening to Ally talk about hanging her jersey up in her house. I think it's going to be hanging up in a bigger place,” Sallee said.
Ball State opened the game on a 7-0 run, but the Rebels were able to adjust and take the lead back in the opening frame.
Sallee said the Cardinals were able to make the first punch, but Ole Miss quickly settled in and got to the rim early. He said the Rebels were able to get the “snowball” rolling and continued to create offense out of their tight defense to put up points on the board.
The Cardinals opened up in a 2-3 defense, and Sallee said they were trying to make the Rebels more one-dimensional to force them to shoot. The head coach said the Rebels were getting to the nail too much to create offense, forcing Ball State to go back to man defense.
Ball State was outscored in every quarter but the fourth, where they put up 26 points compared to the Ole Miss 19.
The impact of the senior class.
The 2024-25 Ball State women’s basketball season is officially over. The Cardinals set many records en route to their NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament showing and marked off a few firsts for the program.
“This group won't be soon forgotten,” Sallee said.
The Cardinals won the 2025 Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season championship, the 2025 MAC Tournament and played in the program's first NCAA Tournament since 2009. The group also played in multiple WNITs and the inaugural WBIT Tournament.
The class of 2025 went 101-36 over their four years in a Ball State uniform.
Becki said it is hard to realize her collegiate career is over, but said it’s done regardless.
“It's time for them to write their story,” Becki said about the future Cardinals.
Contact Elijah Poe via email at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.
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