A season that at one point looked to be heading south has received a shot in the arm over the last few weeks.
A month ago, the Ball State women's basketball team was 4-7 and just suffered a third consecutive loss to St. Louis. Behind a 4-1 start in Mid-American Conference play, the Cardinals have ascended to 8-8 on the year.
The recovery has been aided by many factors, but freshmen play has ignited Ball State.
"They've really begun to come into their own as we've given them minutes," head coach Brady Sallee said. "It's been crucial to their development and has worked wonders for them."
Moriah Monaco has been given a chance to play in every game this season and has recently put together a string of impressive performances. Against Kent State on Jan. 14, Monaco put up a career-best 19 points, the second time this season she has led the team in scoring.
"We've had a lot of flow in the offense and had the ball moving really well," she said after the win over Kent State. "And my teammates have gotten me off screens really well."
Her average of 5.6 points per game puts her in the top-five scoring averages on the team.
"Moriah has really done well, and is developing really into a really well-rounded player for us." Sallee said.
Though she has only played half as many games as Monaco, Frannie Frazier has started five games. Frazier has performed well in handling the starting position.
In her last four games, Frazier has been consistent in keeping up with her teammates on offense and defense, averaging just over five points and two steals a game.
The third freshman on the team, Brionna Simond, has quietly been more minutes in for Ball State, averaging about four per game.Though she may not be showing up on the stat sheet as much as other Cardinals, Sallee feels that she has been developing well and has grown a lot over the season.
The play of the freshman is slowly becoming more important to overall success of Ball State, who is tied for the lead in the MAC at the season's halfway point.
"No freshman comes in understanding college basketball, it is a lot faster and more physical than any high school game they played," Sallee said. "They have to play and learn in the moment and so far the freshman have been doing just that."
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