The Cardinals ended the weekend with their first win against Saint Joseph's (1-6). Ball State registered three players in double figures, including Clephane with 12 points. Senior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir finished with a team-high 13 points while junior Annie Rauch scored 12 points.
The Cardinals were fueled behind 21 points from redshirt junior Anna Clephane. She also totaled four rebounds and three assists. Graduate student Chyna Latimer rounded out Ball State's double-figure scoring with 12 points. Ball State forced 26 turnovers and scored 20 points off turnovers.
Windham led all players off the bench in minutes (20), and scored a career-high 14 points. Windham shot 4-of-5 from three, and credited his performance beyond the arc to his movement without the ball.
Head coach Brady Sallee said not using the term “newcomers” brings all his players together as one. He also said the Cardinals are positionless because of their offensive versatility.
Junior guard Luke Bumbalough scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He made a team-high five 3-pointers, including four in the first half. He led Ball State in minutes played (34).
The Cardinals were driven by a mixture of veteran and new players, including freshman Ally Becki, who scored a team-high 17 points in 24 minutes. She also converted 3-of-5 shots from three, another team-high. In her first collegiate game, Becki said she felt comfortable.
Bumbalough is one of the longest tenured Cardinals and averaged 29.1 minutes per game in 2020-21, which is the highest among all returners. Bumbalough believes the freshmen and transfers have acclimated to the program quickly, which has helped bridge the gap on the court.
It was game of firsts for the Cardinals. It was their first game in front of a full capacity Worthen Arena crowd since the 2019-2020 season, but it was also their first game in a new offensive scheme.
One of the ways to prevent the spread COVID is to stay at least six feet apart, which is not possible in the sport of basketball. In order to combat the spread, a vaccine would be extremely helpful since players are close to each other.
As the National Basketball Association (NBA) begins its 75th regular season Oct. 19, our sports staff gave our predictions for this season. Each staff member predicted conference standings, player awards and the two teams who will represent each conference in the 2022 NBA Finals.
Following a season full of uncertainty and hope, which saw three of the Cardinals' games postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, Ball State was eliminated from the Mid-American Conference Tournament from the loss.
It has come full circle for Thomas. He is coming back home to where it all started, competing in the arena where he grew up watching the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James.
Ball State (10-12, 8-9 MAC) enters the tournament as the No. 8 seed and will take on No. 1 Toledo (20-7, 15-4 MAC) in what is, essentially, a rubber match between both teams.
Why is Brown so focused and restless on the Cardinals' success? To understand where she is coming from, you have to know her mindset.
Ball State Women's Basketball (14-10, 12-8 MAC) closed its regular-season with a 76-69 win against Western Michigan (6-15, 5-14 MAC).
The game was the Cardinals' first on the road in more than a month — and the last before the Mid-American Conference Tournament March 11-13.
If teams are so worried about endangering their road to March Madness because of a one-week tournament to secure their spot in the competition — and perhaps earn themselves a better seed — maybe they should have opted out of their season entirely.
Redshirt sophomore guard Anna Clephane has found success and consistency after bouncing back from a season-ending injury her freshman season against Vanderbilt.
Although the seats in Worthen Arena have been a little emptier than usual this season, cheers reverberated throughout the building Tuesday night with a little more than four minutes to go in Ball State's final home game of 2020-21.
Ball State defeated Toledo 88-77. The story of the game took place on the offensive end of the court, where the Cardinals shot 12-of-24 from the 3-point line.
