Ball State returning players for 2015-16
Renee Bennet, Center
Nathalie Fontaine, Guard
Frannie Frazier, Guard
Calyn Hosea, Guard
Shelby Merder, Forward
Moriah Monaco, Forward
Jill Morrison, Guard
Brionna Simond, Guard
Candyce Ussery, Guard
In its third season under head coach Brady Sallee, the Ball State women's basketball game finished with a 17-14 overall record and 13-5 mark in Mid-American Conference play, both bests during his tenure.
The Cardinals won the MAC West Division and finished with the second best record in the league. After losing in the semifinals, the team earned its third straight Women's National Invitation Tournament birth.
"We are setting a bar for ourselves and almost making it expected that we get this far," Sallee said.
Ball State lost to Middle Tennessee in the first round of the WNIT. It was the second time in the last three years the Cardinals fell in the first round.
But Sallee said learning from failure and disappointment can help his team mature and improve for the future.
"I think big picture," Sallee said. "A loss isn't that important - it's what we do after that loss and how we react to take ourselves from the loss to where we can win and get to where we want to be at the end of the season that's important."
The Cardinals will have an entire offseason to build from the loss and get ready for next season with a very similar roster. Shelbie Justice is the only senior from this season's team.
Justice averaged 31 minutes per game this season, while averaging 10 points per game and shooting 41 percent from the field and 38 percent from behind the arc.
She also surpassed 1,000 points this season, joining 23 other players to do so.
"Not only do we lose her for her offensive threat, but we lose a lot of basketball IQ from her," Sallee said. "She has been a staple of the program here, and it's going to take awhile for me to find a way to fill what she brought with her."
Despite the loss of its senior leader, Sallee said Ball State's future is still bright.
Seven of the 10 players on this year's team are underclassmen. Juniors Nathalie Fontaine and Candyce Ussery will be the lone seniors for the 2015-16 season.
Fontaine was a First Team All-MAC selection this season, leading the Ball State offense with 16.4 points per game. She shot .493 for the season and averaged 7.1 rebounds.
For Fontaine, along with other players and Sallee, the ultimate goal is making the NCAA Tournament.
The last time the Cardinals appeared in the NCAA Tournament was 2009 when the team went 25-8 and made it to the second round. Sallee said the team's absence serves as motivation to get back.
"The program stepped into the limelight and made a name for themselves [in 2009] and then disappeared," Sallee said. "My goal is to get us back there and change us from a program that wins 16-17 games a season and makes the WNIT, to a team that wins 21 or more games a season and changes those four letters to NCAA."
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