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Women's Basketball

Women's Hoops seeks road win at Ball State

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team is set to travel to Muncie, Ind. to face Ball State University on Saturday, Jan. 26, looking to snap a four-game losing skid in the Mid-American Conference. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Worthen Arena. 

Saturday, Jan. 26 • 1 p.m. • Muncie, Ind. • Worthen Arena (11,500)
Western Michigan Broncos (7-9, 1-4 MAC) at Ball State Cardinals (7-11, 2-4 MAC)

Series Record: Ball State leads 44-37
Last Meeting: March. 7, 2018 (Ball State won 65-54 in the MAC Tournament Quarterfinals in Cleveland, Ohio)

BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Radio 
• WQLR 1600 AM The Fan Flagship (Kalamazoo/Portage) - Aaron Coyle (PBP)
Watch Live: ESPN3

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @WMU_WBB | FACEBOOK: @WMUWBB

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan dropped a heartbreaker versus Buffalo last Saturday, Jan. 19 at University Arena, as the Bulls, ranked No. 9 in College Insider's Mid-Major Top 25 Rankings, hit a buzzer-beating layup to defeat the Broncos 61-59. WMU opened the game on an 8-0 run and didn't let its lead slip away until the last second of the game. The Brown & Gold led by as many as 14 in the third quarter, but a strong fourth quarter effort by Buffalo led to the comeback. WMU was paced by the trio of Jasmyn Walker, Deja Wimby, and Leighah-Amori Wool, who tied for the team-lead with seven rebounds each. Walker scored a team-high 16 points, followed by 14 from Wimby, and eight from Wool. Maxine Moore also added eight points off the bench.

SERIES HISTORY 
Saturday's contest will mark the 82nd all-time matchup between Western Michigan and Ball State, with the Cardinals owning a 44-37 series advantage. Last season, the Broncos snapped a six-game losing skid against BSU, upsetting the Cardinals in the MAC Tournament Quarterfinals in Cleveland, Ohio. The No. 6 seeded Broncos defeated No. 3 seed Ball State 65-54.

LAST 10 MEETINGS: 2-8 

Date, Home/Away/Neutral, Result
3/1/2014     H             L, 73-79
1/10/2015   A             L, 36-54
2/28/2015   H            W, 51-50
1/23/16       H             L, 53-77
2/20/2016   A             L, 64-70
1/7/2017     A             L, 56-61
2/22/2017   H             L, 72-83
2/10/2018   H             L, 71-81
2/21/2018   A             L, 58-85
3/7/2018     N            W, 65-54

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
After opening conference play with road win at Bowling Green, WMU is seeking to end a four-game losing skid in the MAC, which has included three and two-point setbacks. The Broncos most recently maintained a lead over Buffalo, a NCAA Sweet 16 team last season, until the final second of the game during the heartbreaking buzzer-beater loss. WMU is led by seniors Deja Wimby and Jasmyn Walker. Despite missing four games, Wimby leads the Broncos with 13.0 points per game while ranking second in the MAC with 3.1 steals per contest (19th/NCAA). Walker ranks sixth in the MAC with 7.2 rebounds per game.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Ball State snapped a three-game losing streak while improving to 2-4 in the MAC with a 48-44 win at home over Kent State on Wednesday, Jan. 23. The Cardinals limited the Golden Flashes to a 23.9 field goal percentage. BSU opened its conference schedule with a 77-70 victory over Bowling Green prior to dropping matchups versus Ohio, Buffalo, and Miami. Sophomore forward Oshlynn Brown leads Ball State with averages of 13.7 points per game (16th/MAC) and 9.3 rebounds per game (3rd/ MAC).

LAST YEAR IN THE MAC
Last season, the Broncos 9-9 overall during Mid-American Conference, finishing third in the MAC West standings, the best finish since the 2014-15 season. WMU received the No. 6 seed in the MAC Tournament and upset No. 3 seeded Ball State prior to falling to No. 2 Buffalo in the semifinals.

CLIPFELL TIED FOR THIRD IN ALL-TIME IN WINS AT WMU
Head Coach Shane Clipfell, who eclipsed the 100-win mark versus Eastern Kentucky (Nov. 28), moved into third place in all-time coaching wins at Western Michigan during the victory over Bowling Green (Jan. 5). His 105th career win in his seventh season at the helm passed Jim Hess' (1982-90) career win total.

BALL SECURITY 
The Brown & Gold have turned the ball over just 214 times through 16 games in 2018-19, which ranks as the 11th fewest in the NCAA in the best in the MAC. Western Michigan's 13.4 turnovers per game also ranks as No. 1 in the MAC and ranks 23rd in the nation.

WALKER SELECTED TO WBCA COACHES PROGRAM
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), in partnership with WeCOACH, announced the class for the 17th annual "So You Want To Be A Coach" program on Tuesday, Jan. 22, with redshirt senior Jasmyn Walker included. Each member will participate in the three-day workshop with speakers provided by WeCOACH on April 3-5 in conjunction with the WBCA Convention in Tampa Bay, Fla. Walker, a Muskegon, Mich., native and business administration major, is one of 60 student-athletes throughout NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA, invited to participate in the program. She will follow in the footsteps of former Broncos Breanna Bankston and Carrie Moore, who both went on to become Division I coaches. 

WALKER JOINS 1K CLUB
Jasmyn Walker scored 13 points versus Toledo to surpass 1,000 points in her career. After totaling 679 points in two seasons at Valparaiso University, Walker has now accumulated 342 points in 36 games played in Brown & Gold to reach the 1,000-point scoring club.

MILLER FROM THE ARC
Stepping into a starting role this season, senior Meredith Miller is one of three Broncos to have started in all 16 games this year and leads the team with 28 three-point field goals made (19th/ MAC). She recently moved into 17th all-time at WMU with 73 career makes from beyond the arc.

WIMBY CLIMBS RECORD BOOK
Senior point guard Deja Wimby continues to move up in the Bronco women's basketball record book. Wimby reached the 200 career steal mark at Bowling Green (Jan. 5) and ranks tied for eighth all-time at WMU with 202 steals. She also ranks seventh at Western Michigan with 422 career assists.
 
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Players Mentioned

Meredith Miller

#22 Meredith Miller

F
5' 11"
Senior
Jasmyn Walker

#34 Jasmyn Walker

F
5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
Deja Wimby

#4 Deja Wimby

G
5' 7"
Senior
Leighah-Amori  Wool

#24 Leighah-Amori Wool

F
6' 0"
Sophomore
Maxine  Moore

#44 Maxine Moore

F
6' 0"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Meredith Miller

#22 Meredith Miller

5' 11"
Senior
F
Jasmyn Walker

#34 Jasmyn Walker

5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
F
Deja Wimby

#4 Deja Wimby

5' 7"
Senior
G
Leighah-Amori  Wool

#24 Leighah-Amori Wool

6' 0"
Sophomore
F
Maxine  Moore

#44 Maxine Moore

6' 0"
Freshman
F