In Oct., Ball State women’s basketball players and Brady Sallee set the goals for the season.
After months of basketball, the Cardinals accomplished what they set out to do. For the first time since 2009, Ball State won the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament and is heading to the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament.
It had been 16 years since the words “Ball State” had been mentioned for ANY NCAA Tournament. Now, the Cardinals have national attention.
While national attention is nice, Muncie should be on notice with the Cardinals. Sallee and the Cardinals have harped all season that this is not just a win for the program; it’s a win for the community.
Sallee scheduled arguably the toughest non-conference schedule the program has ever been through. It had ranked teams like South Dakota State, the University of North Carolina and Ohio State University. It also had great mid-majors like the University of Northern Iowa and James Madison University.
Throughout the wins or tough losses, the Cardinals and Sallee emphasized that it would make them better come time to play in the MAC. And guess what, it did.
The Cardinals won 12 straight games to start the MAC regular season, and most of those games were blowouts or dominant wins.
But adversity hit Ball State in the face after two straight losses to Toledo and Kent State. Sallee said the Cardinals took the chance late in the season to learn from those games and change the way they play instead of continuing down the same path.
Ever since that loss against Kent State, Ball State has not lost a game. They finished the regular season undefeated (to claim their first MAC regular season title since 2003) and went a perfect 3-0 in the MAC Tournament.
Players like Ally Becki, Lachelle Austin, Madelyn Bischoff, Marie Kiefer, Elise Stuck, Alex Richard, Maliyah Johnson, and more played a brand of unselfish basketball that earned them the right to cut down a net when it mattered most.
They broke records, won games, fought through adversity and now have a chance to dance.
The 2024-25 Ball State team did EXACTLY what they said they were going to do.
Contact Elijah Poe via email at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.
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