Western Michigan Broncos (15-10, 7-6 MAC)at Ball State Cardinals (17-7, 9-4 MAC)Saturday, Feb. 20, 1 p.m.Location: Muncie, Ind. (John E. Worthen Arena)
All-time Series: Tied 36-36
TV: ESPN3 with Joel Godett & Amber Stocks
Radio: 1660 AM The Fan with Garrison Diehl or
http://1660thefan.com/listen-live/Twitter: @wmu_wbb & #wmuwbbP4
Facebook: Western Michigan Women's Basketball
HOW WE STACK UP
With just five MAC regular season games left to go, the Broncos are 15-10 overall and 7-6 in conference play coming off their bye week. If the regular season ended today, the Broncos would receive the No. 6 seed in the MAC Tournament and host Miami. WMU started out 7-0 at home and will end the season with three of its final four games at University Arena. Three of WMU's final five games are against teams who are ahead of the Broncos in the MAC West standings in Central Michigan, Ball State and Eastern Michigan.
COMEBACK KIDS
The Broncos have come from behind in each of their last two games, first on the road against Bowling Green and then at home against Akron. The Brown & Gold struggled mightily in the first half against Bowling Green, as WMU head coach Shane Clipfell put it, but came out on fire in the second half and didn't look back outscoring the Falcons 43-22 in the second half en route to a 65-49 win at the Stroh Center. Against the Zips, the Broncos found themselves down 13 points entering the fourth quarter, but outscored Akron 27-10 in the final quarter behind the stellar play of sophomore Alexis Parks and freshman Meredith Miller. The two each scored a career-high 10 points, all of which came in the second half.
SERIES HISTORY WITH BALL STATE
The all-time series between the Broncos and the Cardinals is all tied up at 36-36. When playing in Muncie, Ind., Ball State leads 22-14 and has won three straight games. Overall, the Cardinals have won six of the last seven meetings, including a 77-53 matchup earlier this season on the Broncos' home floor. In that game, the Cardinals held the Broncos to 30-percent shooting and senior Jessica Jessing led the team with 11 points.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Freshman Breanna Mobley has established herself as a legitimate double-double threat every game. She got the starting nod in back-to-back games and came out with double-doubles in both games, her first and second double-doubles of her young career. Against Bowling Green, Mobley finished with 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with a career-high five assists. Against the Zips last time out, she had 13 points and 11 rebounds while recording a career-high two steals. Per 40 minutes, Mobley is averaging 12.2 rebounds a game, 5.5 on the offensive end and 2.2 blocks, all of which lead the team.
MAGIC NUMBER 70
This season the Broncos are 9-1 when scoring over 70 points and also 12-2 when allowing less than 70 points. However, WMU is 1-8 when allowing over 70 points with the one win coming at Buffalo where the Broncos used their highest offensive output in 79 games in a 92-78 win over the Bulls on the road.
CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT
The Cardinals enter at 17-7 overall, 9-4 in the MAC and 10-2 on their home floor. BSU has lost two of its last three games, but are fresh off a 73-57 win over Northern Illinois on the road on Wednesday, Feb. 17. The team is led by senior Nathalie Fontaine, who is averaging a double-double at 21.4 points per game and 10.0 rebounds, which are good for second and third best in the MAC, respectively. Junior Jill Morrison averages 11.3 points and sophomore Moriah Monaco is at 10.5. As a team, the Cardinals average 70.0 points per game and allow 60.9 points while leading the league in free-throw percentage (.742), field goal percentage (.432) and assists (16.7).
