Division 1 basketball at Muncie Free Press - Delaware County Indiana | News and Information

By Rick Yencer

MANHATTAN, KS - The historic post season run by Ball State womens basketball ended at Kansas State Thursday night after Big 12 leader Brittany Chambers pounded the boards with a record 23 points.

By Rick Yencer

MUNCIE, IN - Ball State womens basketball will have another test Thursday, facing Big 12 leader Brittany Chambers of Kansas State in the WNIT tournament.

 "Clearly any talk about K-State begins and ends with Brittany Chambers," said BSU Coach Brady Sallee.

 Chambers is the only player in Big 12 history to score 700 or more points, grab 250 more rebounds and help with 100 or more assists.

 Ball State has a double attack going into the next round of the WNIT with Nathalie Fontaine, a freshman from Stockholm, Sweden, who is average 13.2 points a game and leads all freshmen in the Mid American Conference in scoring. Woody, a junior from Thorntown averaging 11.1 points a game and rebounding about 5.8 points a game.

By Rick Yencer

MUNCIE, IN - Incredible was the word Ball State womens basketball coach Brady Sallee used when the team upset Northern Iowa Sunday 53-48 at Worthen Arena.

By Rick Yencer

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN - A fast starting, three point shooting Ball State womens team upset Minnesota at home in the first round of the WNIT Friday night.

By Rick Yencer

MUNCIE, IN - Just when the Ball State basketball season seemed to be over, the women's team got a surprising invite to the WNIT, playing Minnesota in the first round on Friday.

"If you would have asked be a month, I would not know," said BSU women's coach Brady Sallee, about a post season shot in a tournament.

By Rick Yencer

MUNCIE, IN - Jauwan Scaife proved a good case for being conference player of the year when he pulled Ball State from agony of defeat to the thrill of victory over North Illinois.

 That tempo change came just with about five minutes on the clock when Scaife scored a three point shot and followed up with two more on the foul line. Ball State kept the lead and won 53-51 in the game marred by too many lost balls and a slow down that almost got the Cardinals beat by the worst team in the western conference.

 And it was senior day for Scaife and Zach Fields who ended their careers at home and go on to the Mid American Conference tournament as a number five seed, and a bye. Only winning that tournament would guarantee the 14-14 Cardinals a chance at the NCAA tournament that is more likely from Akron or Ohio.

 Northern Illinois Coach Mark Montgomery called the Cardinals the hottest team in the MAC while Scaife was among the hottest players.

 "Sometimes all you need is one player to turn around the season," he said.

By Rick Yencer

MUNCIE, IN - Ball State senior guard Jauwan Scaife is playing every game like it is his last and he showed Central Michigan a career high 34 points on Wednesday, proving the Cardinals could not be beat.

 It was no defense, all out shooting that had Ball State in the lead as many as 12 points a couple times in the game and then came down to free throw shooting at the end with a 95-90 win.

 It seemed easy for Ball State to control the ball and have four players in double figures with forward Chris Bond and guard Jesse Berry each scoring 15 and forward Majok Majok adding 10.

 Central Michigan Coach Keno Davis, in his first season, playing four freshman, said it was obvious the Chippewas caught the Cardinals on a good night with everyone playing.

By Rick Yencer

MUNCIE, IN - It was another Saturday at Worthen Arena where the fighting Cardinals started out great, tied at halftime and then lost 56-50 to Eastern Michigan.

All Ball State Coach Billy Taylor could say was the team looked tired and had a rough day defending the Eagles who had two players in double figures and a second half rush that put Ball State behind and never able to recover with a predictable free throw shootout at the end.

 Some fans and even the hired help at the arena said it was time for a new coach as Ball State hangs around the Mid-American Conference cellar at 10-14 and 4-8.

Actually, Ball State had the game won early with freshman Chase Brogna of Houston making his debut as a starter and scoring two three-point shots which would be his only score of the game.

By Rick Yencer

MUNCIE, IN - An incredible performance by Ball State guard Jauwan Scaife scoring a career high 30 points resulted in the Cardinals finally winning at home and upsetting Western Michigan 65-62 Saturday night.

 "Our energy was terrific," said BSU Coach Billy Taylor, obviously delighted that his team finally won a home game and snapped a month long losing streak that sent them to the bottom of the Mid-American Conference.

 Western Michigan Coach Steve Hawkins, whose team was standing atop the MAC's western division, said turnovers and losing composure at the end of the one-possession game caused the Broncos to get beat by the struggling Cardinals.

 "I don't think they caught us off guard," said Hawkins, whose team was a five point favorite on the Vegas line.

Ball State’s Majok Grabs MAC West Player of the Week Honor

By Rick Yencer

Source: BSUSports.com

MUNCIE, IN - Majok Majok's raw talent is beginning to improve as he grabbed 21 points Saturday against Miami and won a Player of the Week award from the Mid-American Conference. It marks the second player-of-the-week award for Majok this season and the fourth for a Ball State player. Teammate Jesse Berry is also a two-time winner.

 Majok, a junior forward, got the West Division nod for averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds in the Miami and Buffalo games. He shot 64.7 percent from the floor and 85.7 percent at the free throw line, a big improvement from recent games.

 Actually, Majok and three other Ball State players got in double figures Saturday to beat Miami 82-62 which was the highest scoring game the Cardinals had yet. And at 2-4 in conference and 8-10 overall, the team is about the average of other MAC teams in the West and East.

 And Majok will compete in the Geico Play of Year competition on CBS April 6 with other talented college stars. He won out from other players nominated the week of Jan. 2 when he slammed dunked a final shot against Norfolk State. That buzzer beater score won Ball State the game.

 On Wednesday, Ball State plays Toledo that is 3-3 in the Mac and 7-10 overall. Their top scorers are Rian Pearson who averages about 18.2 points, and Julius Brown at 13.4 points.