The Ball State women’s basketball team made its second consecutive visit to the National Invitational Tournament last season after finishing with an 18-17 record.
The Cardinals made it all the way to the MAC Tournament title game before losing to No. 3 seed Akron.
Despite last season’s success, third-year head coach Brady Sallee isn’t letting his team get complacent as the 2014-15 season gets underway.
“We are trying to distance ourselves from last years squad and trying to be our own team,” Sallee said. “The girls come into this program because of the success of previous years and know that we have certain goals and standards we are trying to meet.”
Sallee’s message seems to be getting through to his players, at least early in the year, as Ball State dominated Oakland 116-29 in its exhibition game on Nov. 4.
Four players registered double-doubles, led by sophomore center Renee Bennett’s 23 points and 13 rebounds.
Sophomore Calyn Hosea, freshman Moriah Monaco, and sophomore Shelby Merder also recorded double-doubles for Ball State.
Despite the Cardinals’ performance, Sallee didn’t want to look too deep into the numbers.
“I don’t take much away from the score,” he said. “I’m just glad to have the girls back on the court and doing what we practiced.”
One player who has been a leader in practice is junior guard Nathalie Fontaine.
Fontaine was named to the All-MAC West Division Preseason Team. She said that it’s an honor, but doesn’t see herself as a special individual on the team for it.
“When we are on the court it’s a team effort,” Fontaine said. “Everyone has to step up for us to win, it won’t be one person.”
Team effort will be key for the Cardinals this season, as the team looks to incorporate several new players into the game plan.
Shelbie Justice, Ball State’s lone senior, has also been doing her part to help the incoming players adjust to the college game.
“I’ve been telling them to just focus on each individual game and only try to do what we work on in practice during the games,” Justice said.
When Ball State hosts in-state rival Purdue at 7 p.m. on Friday, the Cardinals will be a different team than last year and one that will look to play to its new personal.
“We prepared differently this season than we did last season, because we have different girls with different skills,” Sallee said. “But we have to still go out there and do what we worked on. Then we will be successful.”
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