A new, defensive approach has become a catalyst for the Ball State women's basketball team, leading to a 3-0 start in Mid-American Conference play.
The new defensive philosophy was enacted after Christmas and since the move, the Cardinals have allowed an impressive 42.3 points per game. Ball State was allowing 66 points per game in 11 games before .
Head coach Brady Sallee said that the key difference in his defense is generating pressure.
“We've been trying to pressure the ball more and the real difference in what I'm asking our kids to do is trying to put more pressure on it,” Sallee said. "We're extending our defense to full-court and it's forcing us to play hard."
The Cardinals' full-court pressure has generated turnovers at will. In three conference contests, an average of 23.3 turnovers forced per game has led to three straight wins.
In a game against Western Michigan on Saturday, Ball State was locked in a tied game at the half. The Cardinals turned on their full-court pressure in the second half, outscoring the Broncos 33-15 and ultimately winning 54-36.
Sallee's scheme has quickly put Ball State into a tie for first place in the MAC West Division.
“It's a lot easier for us to get the deflections and the turnovers that you see that we've been having as of lately just because we've been switching defenses,” sophomore Renee Bennett said.
Sallee said he wishes that he could stick with one defensive scheme, but his players are doing too well to completely get rid of the zone defense.
“I'd rather just be man-to-man and never have to waiver, but these guys have gotten so good at doing all those things now they kind of force me to play it," Sallee said. "So it's been really really good for us.”
With the combination of defenses, Ball State has experienced a winning margin of just over 20 points per game during its winning streak.
The players struggled to buy into the new scheme initially, but were quick to overcome and embrace their new look of a tough, grind-it-out defensive team.
With the new look, the Cardinals look poised to impose their will on the rest of their MAC rivals.
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