“I think the losses at BYU were a really good teaching moment for us,” Hernandez said. “It was the first time in our season that we’ve been tested, and we got to see how we played. We grew from it.”
Alex Perry has been with Ball State since 2022 and has served as the associate athletic director for internal operations since that time.
After falling on their home court in last year’s conference championship, the Cardinals are hopeful for a deep postseason push, even with new faces manning key roles in the rotation.
In the quarterfinals of the Delaware County boys' basketball tournament, both Delta and Wapahani took victories to advance to Friday's semifinal round.
“I don’t think anybody on the team was nervous, per se, or extremely worried,” junior Nyla Hampton said. “We knew it was something we could do (come back), we just knew we all had to lock in.”
The Cardinals overcame a slow start and a stellar performance from Buffalo fifth-year Chellia Watson to stay undefeated in conference play. Here are four takeaways from their win.
Here are the candidates for the Delaware County Athlete of the Week from the week of 1/3-1/10.
In the first round of the Delaware County girls' basketball tournament, both Wapahani and Yorktown advanced with wins over Daleville and Cowan.
The Cardinals (8-7, 0-3 MAC) fell 80-76 to preseason Mid-American Conference (MAC) favorite, Akron (11-4, 3-0 MAC). Ball State hits the road for its next contest, another MAC contest against Toledo (9-6, 3-0 MAC) in Toledo, Ohio, Saturday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m.
Four Cardinals scored in double-figures as Ball State fell 80-76 to Akron.
Since the time when the Delaware County high school basketball tournament was first constructed, the Burris Owls and Muncie Central Bearcats have not been included.
Since head coach Donan Cruz arrived at Ball State in 2022, the Cardinals have matched up against Brigham Young (BYU) in a pair of matches in each of his seasons at the helm. The red and white split their two-match slates against the Cougars in 2022 and 2023, but they were unable to replicate that pattern this season.
Ally Becki led Ball State with 20 points as the Cardinals defeated Akron 71-64 in overtime.
Ball State men's basketball (8-6, 0-2 MAC) lost for the fourth game in a row when key turnovers helped guide Central Michigan (8-6, 1-1 MAC) to a 71-65 win. The Cardinals host MAC opponent Akron Tuesday, January 9, at 7 p.m. in their next attempt at snapping their losing streak.
The Cardinals captured their sixth-straight win after defeating Akron 71-64.
Ball State men's basketball (8-6, 0-2 MAC) lost its fourth-straight game and second MAC contest of the season in a tight matchup to Central Michigan (8-6, 1-1 MAC). The Cardinals stay at home for its next contest, hosting MAC foe Akron Tuesday, January 9, at 7 p.m.
Ball State gymnastics won its first competitive meet of the season against North Carolina, Rutgers and Utah State. The Cardinals' next meet will be the Ohio State Tri-Meet at 2 p.m. Jan. 14 at Ohio State University against the Buckeyes and Towson University.
Ball State was unable to overcome its troubles at the service line and fell to BYU for its first loss of the 2024 season.
“We force teams in a way that they are maybe not comfortable playing,” Sallee said. “Over the course of 40 minutes, you saw it play out today where it just wore them down.”
If Ball State wants to win the MAC championship, Kiefer is going to need to put up performances like the one she had in the conference opener. While asking Kiefer to start the game 4-for-4 from the field every game seems unachievable, her impact was felt on both ends throughout the game.
