MUNCIE — Nearly 13 years ago, on Dec. 18, 2013, Ball State women’s basketball hosted No. 7 Louisville, marking the first time ever that the Cardinals hosted a top-10 team in Worthen Arena. Ball State lost that game by 38 points.
On Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, Ball State women’s basketball hosted a top-10 team for the second time in program history. Coincidentally, it was Louisville again, and in an even bigger coincidence, the visiting Cardinals were ranked No. 7 again.
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Ball State fared much better than it did 13 years ago, but ultimately couldn’t keep up with its elite competition, falling to Louisville in a 94-73 result.
Despite the 21-point deficit on the scoreboard at the end of the night, Ball State head coach Brady Sallee was very pleased with his team’s performance and approach to the game following a tough loss to High Point in their last game.
“How much fun was that?” Sallee said. “I’m telling you, those are the ones I like to play. Man, they’re good, but I told this group, I think we were good too. I can get down with that team that I just watched play. That team last Saturday, I was about ready to take them back to Enterprise Rent-A-Car and trade it out. But this group, man, I can get down with that. I think we got so much better in the last three or four days.”
More: Ball State women’s basketball falls to High Point in mid-major battle
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Ball State’s shortcomings in this loss were obvious — the home Cardinals were physically overmatched by the visitors. After all, Louisville is a top-10 team for a reason, and they looked every bit the part of a Final Four contender in their win at Worthen Arena.
The visiting Cardinals used their size and length to fluster Ball State’s offense, finishing with 12 steals and seven blocks as a team. Many of their blocks came on Ball State 3-point attempts where Louisville’s players barely had to jump.
“They’re very athletic,” Ball State freshman Lilli Barnes said. “They’re big, they’re tall, they’re lengthy, so they’re very active on defense and can read everything.”
In spite of the physical mismatch, Ball State’s players never looked like they were intimidated by the competition. Much like Sallee, they embraced the opportunity to compete with an elite opponent and see how they measure up against a program that has become a Sweet 16 regular in the 2020s. That fearless mentality began in practice, where the Cardinals had a much better week after Sallee called out their preparation following their loss to High Point.
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“I think it’s just the mindset we go into practice with,” junior Grace Kingery said. “We have to take everything seriously, especially when we go through scout and knowing the personnel and stuff, so I think it’s just being locked in, especially at shootaround too.”
Barnes made her first collegiate start and led Ball State with 22 points on 7-of-10 field goal shooting while also pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. The heralded freshman out of Valparaiso has wasted no time in establishing herself as a rising star for Ball State, and it’s become clear through three games that she will have a major impact on the Cardinals’ success this season. Achieving that status often comes with a lot of pressure, especially for such a young player, but Barnes is built for the moment.
“I think before every game, there’s a little bit of nerves whether you’re starting or just on the bench,” Barnes said. “Once the ball goes up, just playing and getting a feel for the game, I’ve been playing all my life, so it just comes as the game goes on.”
Zhen Verburgt finished second on the team in scoring with 13 points, while Kingery followed with 12 points.
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Ball State benefitted from a large and loud home crowd, particularly a very full and raucous student section. Sallee was very complimentary of the student section’s energy throughout the game, and the players agreed that it played a part in their own energetic performance.
“It helped a lot,” Kingery said. “It was so much fun, especially when we cut the lead down to within 10. It was great.”
Sallee professed postgame that he is not a fan of moral victories and is more concerned with his team’s process of getting better. This week, he felt that their process was sound and that the team was ready to play against an elite Louisville team. Although the final score was lopsided against them, it was a good night for Ball State women’s basketball.
“I think it’s important that, in your own locker room, you define success for yourself,” Sallee said. “You don’t necessarily chase wins and losses — those become byproducts of doing everything right. For us, we work and we walk about it a lot, about what success means to us. We could play Ave Maria Technical State College of the who-knows-what and win, but I don’t know that, if your process isn’t good, would you be happy with that win? It’s just fool’s gold.”
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Ball State’s next opponent will be much tougher than the fictional Ave Maria Tech State, as the Cardinals are set to host yet another ranked team when No. 21 Illinois comes to Muncie on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The Cardinals and Fighting Illini will tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET at Worthen Arena.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@usatodayco.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State women’s basketball falls to No. 7 Louisville in encouraging outing
