KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team head to Worthen Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 22, to face the Cardinals of Ball State for a 6:30 pm contest. 
 
WHERE TO WATCH 
Wednesday's matchup between the Broncos and Cardinals will be available for streaming via ESPN+. The link to the stream is listed above and can be found HERE. 
 
THE MATCHUP 
Ball States leads the all-time series between the two teams to head into their 91st matchup. Western Michigan holds the all-time home advantage 21-20, while Ball State leads at Worthen Arena, 29-15, as well as in Cleveland at the MAC tournament. 
 
Last time out, Western Michigan fell to conference opponent Ball State at University Arena, 76-70 on Saturday, Jan. 7. Three players scored double-figures for Western Michigan, including Taylor Williams with a season-high 25 points, Hannah Spitzley with 12 points, and Lauren Ross with 10 points. The two teams battled back and forth for most of the contest until Ball State pulled away in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals outshot WMU, shooting 44.6 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from deep, and 73.1 percent from the line. Ball State pulled down 40 rebounds and added 10 steals. Western Michigan shot 41 percent from the field, 29 percent from the three-point range, and 64.7 from, the charity stripe. WMU registered 31 rebounds and 11 steals on the night. 
 
Overall: 39-50
Home: 21-20
Away: 15-29
Neutral: 3-1
MAC Tournament: 1-3
 
Last 10 Meetings: 
Date                Result             Score              Location
3/7/2018          W                    65-54               Cleveland, Ohio (MAC Tournament)
1/26/2019        W                    65-62               Muncie, Ind. 
3/2/2019          W                    72-54               Kalamazoo, Mich. 
2/1/2020          L                      65-68               Muncie, Ind.
3/7/2020          L                      63-64 (OT)      Kalamazoo, Mich.
1/30/2021        L                      71-78               Kalamazoo, Mich.
3/6/2021          L                      69-76               Muncie, Ind. 
2/21/2022        L                      67-73               Muncie, Ind. 
2/23/2022        L                      56-64               Kalamazoo, Mich. 
1/7/2023          L                      70-76               Kalamazoo, Mich.
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS (22-5 Overall, 12-2 MAC)
The Cardinals look for a MAC series sweep at home heading into Wednesday's contest against the Broncos. Ball State is looking to get back on a winning track after suffering a 77-84 loss to Northern Illinois on Saturday. The loss snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Cardinals this season. BSU sits top of the MAC with a high-scoring offense, averaging 78 points per game with a strong scoring margin of +12.8. They have an efficient shooting percentage of 46.5% from the field and 34.2% from beyond the arc. Ball State averages 13.3 free throws per game, 16.8 assists per game, adding 8.1 steals and 3.9 blocks per game.
 
BSU is led by Anna Clephane, who has been a dominant force on the court this season. Clephane averages 15.2 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game, with an impressive field goal percentage of 49.3 percent. She has been a consistent shooter from beyond the arc, with a three-point shooting percentage of 23.9 percent. Clephane's success at the free-throw line has also been noteworthy, with a free-throw percentage of 71.6. In addition to her scoring ability, Clephane has also contributed significantly to the team's defense, tallying 68 assists, 36 steals, and 5 blocks on the season. Thelma Dis Agustsdottir has also been a key contributor, with an average of 13.1 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game, and the highest three-point shooting percentage on the team at 42 percent. Marie Kiefer has been leading the team in rebounding with an average of 5.9 per game, including 42 offensive boards and 118 defensive boards for a total of 160 boards.
 
MAC STANDINGS
Ball State (12-2 MAC, 22-5 Overall)
Bowling Green (12-2 MAC, 23-3 Overall) 
Toledo (12-2 MAC, 21-4 Overall)
Kent State (9-5 MAC, 17-8 Overall)
Northern Illinois (6-8 MAC, 14-11 Overall)
Akron (6-8 MAC, 15-10 Overall)
Eastern Michigan (5-9 MAC, 13-12 Overall)
Miami (5-9 MAC, 10-17 Overall)
Western Michigan (5-9 MAC, 10-15 Overall)
Buffalo (4-10 MAC, 9-14 Overall)
Central Michigan (4-10 MAC, 6-19 Overall)
Ohio (4-10 MAC, 6-19 Overall)
 
LEADING THE MAC (*Nationally)
Taylor Williams
    Blocks (144 Ranked) - 2nd (41) *43rd
    Blocks Per Game (249 Ranked) - 2nd (1.71) *41st
    Field Goal Percentage (250 Ranked) - 9th (45.1) *137th
    Free Throw Attempts (148 Ranked) - 4th (122) *111th
    Points Per Game (250 Ranked) - 13th (14.6) *198th
    Rebounds (150 Ranked) - 3rd (215) *91st
    Rebounds Per Game (250 Ranked) - 3rd (9.0) *55th
 
Hannah Spitzley 
    Steals (149 Ranked) - 4th (53) *91st
    Steals Per Game (249 Ranked) - 4th (2.12) *82nd
 
Gabi Saxman 
    Steals Per Game (249 Ranked) - 7th (1.84) *179th
 
UP NEXT
The next game on the schedule for the Western Michigan women's basketball team is a home match against Ohio University on Saturday, February 25th at 2:30 pm. This contest features a Senior Day celebration, which will recognize the contributions of three seniors on the team: Emily Flannery, Abby Voss, and Maddie Watters.
 
Saturday's contests will be available for streaming via ESPN+. To purchase tickets to any Western Michigan women's basketball home game this season, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets or call 1-888-4-WMUTIX.