Ball State WNIT results under Brady Sallee
2016 – to be determined
2015 – Eliminated by Middle Tennessee State in first round 68-59
2014 – Eliminated by Northwestern in the first round 69-65
2013 – Beat Minnesota in the first round 54-51
Beat Northern Iowa in the second round 53-48
Eliminated by Kansas State in the third round 60-48
The Cardinals will travel to Iowa City, Iowa, to play the University of Iowa Hawkeyes (19-13, 8-10 Big Ten) in the first round on Thursday, March 17. Iowa finished the regular season tied for ninth in the Big Ten.
Ball State finished the regular season second in the MAC West Division and was seeded third in the MAC Tournament.
After being knocked out of the MAC Tournament quarterfinals in Cleveland, Ohio, Cardinal head coach Brady Sallee said he expected a WNIT bid.
“I’m lucky I get to keep coaching them,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s in a tournament we’re excited to be in, but we feel like we’re good enough to be in the other one too. And I know that’s what [senior guard Nathalie Fontaine] deserves, and the country deserves to see her on that stage, too. That’s what I hate.”
Fontaine was named MAC Player of the Year and broke Ball State's career scoring record earlier this season. She is also second in the MAC with 20.7 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game.
Four other MAC schools — Ohio (24-6, 16-2 MAC), Central Michigan (22-10, 14-4 MAC), Akron (19-13, 11-7 MAC) and Eastern Michigan (21-11, 10-8 MAC) — will join Ball State in the 64-team tournament.
The MAC's 5 WNIT bids are the second most of any conference, behind only the Big Ten's six bids.
MAC schools have advanced to at least the third round in five consecutive seasons, and Toledo won the tournament in 2011.
Ball State was eliminated in the first round in 2014 and 2015, but advanced to the third round in 2013.
Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. at Iowa.
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