DN FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016
THE DAILY NEWS
BALLSTATEDAILY.COM
DN FILE PHOTO BREANNA DAUGHERTY
MAC TOURNEY
First round: Monday, campus sites Rest of tournament: March 9-12 Cleveland, Ohio
DN FILE PHOTO KELLEN HAZELIP
Men’s team looking to secure bye in MAC Tournament next week
Ball State playing for 3 or 4 seed in final game of regular season
RYAN FLANERY MEN’S BASKETBALL REPORTER | @Flanery_13
COLIN GRYLLS ASST. SPORTS EDITOR | sports@bsudailynews.com
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he Ball State men’s basketball team will finish its season at Northern Illinois, this final game has implications on the upcoming Mid-American Conference West Division title and seeding in the upcoming conference tournament. With 19 wins secured this season, this has been Ball State’s most winningness season since 2010-11. That year, the Cardinals finished 19-13 and made a run to the semifinals of the MAC tournament before getting bounced by Kent State.
uicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, awaits Ball State women’s basketball as the team gears up for the Mid-American Conference tournament March 9-12. The Cardinals (20-8, 12-5 MAC) have already clinched a bye to the quarterfinals due to their overall record. The Cardinals control their standing in the tournament. If they win against Toledo (17-11, 12-5 MAC) at 2 p.m. March 5, they will be the No. 3 seed. If Ball State loses, it will fall to the No. 4 seed.
See MEN’S, page 6
INSIDE PLAYER POSTER
Nathalie Fontaine breaks scoring record page 3
See WOMEN’S, page 6
FORMER TEAM RELIVES NCAA TOURNAMENT VICTORY An oral history of the 2009 upset over Tennessee
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JAKE FOX MANAGING EDITOR managingeditor@bsudailynews.com
A David vs. Goliath matchup; a new coach marching her team into a “sea of orange” to match up with one of women’s college basketball’s most storied programs. It looked even more one-sided than games that are scripted in the movies, the first round of the NCAA Tournament featuring one team that had never been there before against a team that had never lost in the first round of the big dance and was coming off
back-to-back national championships. A matchup that produced some historic firsts on both sides. An all-time upset. A new precedent. In the history of Ball State women’s basketball, the Cardinals have only made one NCAA Tournament appearance. But during that run in 2009, Ball State brought a community together to see a tiny Mid-American Conference school slay the Southeastern Conference giant that had dominated women’s college basketball for decades. The time Ball State took down Tennessee and Pat Summitt in the NCAA Tournament. It’s been almost seven
years since Ball State did the unthinkable. Almost seven years since the Cardinals dominated the first two rounds of the Mid-American Conference Tournament and survived Bowling Green — “the team to beat” — in the championship game. Almost seven years since Ball State had a selection show party and found out it would be playing Tennessee in Bowling Green, Ky. Almost seven years since Ball State pulled off an upset deemed “the tourney’s greatest ever” by Mechelle Voepel of espnW. “It doesn’t get scripted like that. So you’re a No. 12 seed playing a No. 5; ... you’re playing the defending national champions. That
doesn’t happen,” said Audrey McDonald-Spencer, a junior guard on the team at the time. “You’re a mid-major that Tennessee’s head coach doesn’t even know where you are. No one wanted to know about Ball State until that happened.” McDonald-Spencer is now an assistant coach on this year’s Cardinals team, who is 20-8 (12-5 MAC). With one game left in the regular season this year, Ball State has already locked up a bye in the MAC Tournament. The Cardinals don’t have to look too deep into their history to find inspiration for making it to their second NCAA Tournament.
See HISTORY, pages 4-5
DN FILE PHOTO SAM HOUSEHOLDER
Former Ball State Porchia Green drives to the basket in the Mid-American Conference championship game against Bowling Green on March 15, 2009. The Cardinals won 55-51, advancing to their first NCAA Tournament.
greetings from
Papa John gives grant Money to go to John H. Schnatter Institute for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise
THE PULSE OF BALL STATE
7 things to do over Spring Break
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VOL. 95, ISSUE 66
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