Ball State head coach Brady Sallee said game plans do not always go well, but they did perfectly against Anderson University.

The Cardinals defeated the Ravens 112-35, breaking a 49-year-old program record for the largest margin of victory. The 77-point win dethrones the 61-point win against Taylor University in 1975.

Ball State wraps up its non-conference stint going 8-4, with one win against a Power 5 opponent (Texas A&M in the Battle 4 Atlantis).

The Cardinals will now shift their attention to Miami (OH). Ball State will ring in the New Year against a Mid-American Conference (MAC) foe.

Sallee said he has no question of what the 2024-25 Ball State women’s basketball team is after wrapping up a tough non-conference schedule against multiple ranked opponents.

“We don't have to hope or worry about what it's going to look like,” Sallee. “That's the good news.”

Freshman Grace Kingery said the physicality of the non-conference games has prepared the Cardinals to battle through it all. Kingery was a starter for the second game in a row, stepping up with senior Madelyn Bischoff sidelined due to injury.

And battle through things the Cardinals have done. Ball State is dealing with two starters still out of the lineup (Bischoff and senior Alex Richard) and has had to pivot with their injuries.

Graduate student Elise Stuck said Ball State has been doing a good job of moving different pieces around and still getting the same results even though players are hurt.

“I'm proud of the group because we've not just had a couple of injuries, we've had three starters out at different points,” Sallee said. “...That's not easy to step in and just do what they did.”

Sallee said there were a few moments of wondering what would work best, but everyone was more focused on a next-man-up mentality.

“You think about two potential all-conference kids being out of your lineup for the amount they've been out of it, we haven't missed a beat,” Sallee said.

Sallee said he has his fingers crossed to get Richard and Bischoff back for the Jan. 1 conference tip-off but does not want to put any expectations on when they will return to the floor.

Sallee and the Cardinals know the product that is on the court, now he said Ball State has to know how to amp it up for the rest of the conference slate.

“I love the toughness of the team, [and] I love the depth of the team,” Sallee said. “We're not a one-trick pony. We can score in a lot of different ways with a lot of different people.”

Sallee hit on three places where he wants to see the Cardinals improve before MAC play begins. He wants to see Ball State be a better offensive-rebounding team, play without fouling (in certain situations) and improve on shooting. Sallee said there have been times the Cardinals have shot well but need to knock down 3-pointers.

He said all three of those key points are within razor-thin margins, but margins that can make a difference.

“We're going to have to beat the other teams to our weaknesses and improve on them before they can get exploited,” Sallee said.

Ball State finished 16-2 in the 2023 MAC schedule and fell to eventual champion Kent State in the second round of the MAC Tournament. The Cardinals never lost a MAC game at home.

“We are super aware there is a target on our back, and that is how we have to approach every single game,” Stuck said.

Contact Elijah Poe via email at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.

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