by After an 8-4 start to the 2025-2026 campaign, Ball State women’s basketball begins its Mid-American Conference (MAC) journey Saturday, Dec. 20, as the Cardinals host Eastern Michigan (6-4) for an 11 a.m. tip.
This will be the first time that many new Cardinals get to play in a MAC contest.
“My group now, they don’t know Eastern from Western [Michigan] from Central [Michigan]. They don’t know any of them,” Ball State head coach Brady Sallee said. “They’ll see it for what it is.”
The Cardinals come into the conference season after a road trip that saw three-straight losses. After playing the likes of Louisville, South Dakota State and some other top competition, Sallee said the start of the season has helped them get a feel of what to expect.
In the end, that is why Sallee said he wanted to play the caliber of teams the Cardinals did.
“The [players] judge themselves a lot on wins and losses,” he said. “We’re trying to get them out of that mindset and more into the process mindset. That’s the build of what we’re trying to do. Help them understand that the goal is to be at our best in March, not in December. The way you do that is you put them in adverse situations.
“Whatever the adversity is, you’ve got to embrace that and understand what it’s doing for you, and be thankful for it in a weird way.”
Though the team started the year as a brand new roster, Sallee said they have gelled well. Senior forward Bree Salenbein leads the team with 16.4 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game. Behind her is senior center Tessa Towers with 11.9 points and 8.8 rebounds.
A returner from last season, Sallee said Towers has developed into a force for Ball State. But he said it all started with how she looked at the opportunity she was given.
“I think what you see right now is a confident player that has a rock-solid foundation to her game [and] she is playing at a really high level,” he said.
As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 75.3 points per game — which is No. 2 in the MAC — while recording 18.6 assists and grabbing 47.7 rebounds. Both of those statistics lead the conference.
But what Sallee has noticed is how the team acts away from the court. During their three-game road trip, there were some delays and other obstacles during their travels. Yet, the team never made a stink of it.
“It was like a made-for-TV movie. It was literally ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles,’” Sallee said. “I’ve done this a long time, and I’ve never been through anything like it. Even in that moment, our kids didn’t turn it into anything negative.”
Coming into Saturday’s contest, Eastern Michigan is averaging 67.0 points per game. Senior forward Sisi Eleko leads the Eagles and the MAC with 17.5 points.
Sallee said this is an Eastern Michigan team that is different from what Ball State has seen in the past.
“You have to guard them straight up a little bit, and they’re playing with a ton of confidence,” he said. “They are playing physically and tough. In my estimation, it’s going to be a top-of-the-league matchup.”
While the beginning of MAC play is at the top of their to-do list, Sallee talked about the start of the season and what he has seen when it comes to players stepping up. He said at certain times, it has been different Cardinals who have answered the call.
However, he said the fact that they are still looking for those top players is not an issue. In fact, he belives it is just the state of the sport.
“We’ve got good kids, and the energy’s good. We need a couple of dogs in the room,” he said. “I think they’re still trying to figure out roles and ‘when can I be this and when do I not need to be this.’ But this is kind of the new part of the job … I think most teams right now are going to get to February before they start figuring that piece out.”
While the Cardinals are still looking to see who will become the ‘dogs’ of the team, the new Ball State roster will play two road games following the contest with Eastern Michigan. Those will be against Akron and Northern Illinois before returning to Muncie Jan. 7, for a game against Toledo.
No matter what they face in the future, the Cardinals believe they are ready.
“I think we’ve seen about every style you can imagine,” Sallee said. “We’ve seen big, and we’ve seen fast. We’ve played three or four quad one games on the road, and we played a lot on the road. So I think all those things are going to have us prepared.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu, zachcarter039@gmail.com or via X @ZachCarter85.
