BY ERINN CASEY | Ball State Sports Link

Coming off Wednesday’s 83-72 victory over Western Michigan, the Ball State Women’s Basketball team shifts its focus to its biggest opponent of the season: Central Michigan.

The Chippewas are in town with hopes of clinching the No. 1 seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament and the 2017 MAC Regular Season title on Saturday.

CMU’s 109-86 win Wednesday night over Northern Illinois keeps BSU in second place, one game back of the Chippewas’ top spot. Needless to say, Saturday’s game has a lot at stake.

The two teams met earlier this season on Jan. 11 in what became one of the most exciting games of the season. The fast-paced, high-scoring game was competitive through the middle of the fourth quarter, when a one-point game for the Cardinals gave way to a 9-1 CMU run. The Chippewas held on for the 101-92 win in Mt. Pleasant.

Sophomore guard Presley Hudson scored 43 points for the Chippewas, breaking the program record for scoring in a single game. She went 9-of-14 from the three-point line, adding to the impressive 61 percent three-point mark the team produced. Junior guards Cassie Breen and Aleah Swary added to the offense with 16 and 14 points, respectively.

Senior center Renee Bennett led the Cardinals’ offense with 22 points, while sophomore guard Carmen Grande logged a double-double with 15 points and 14 assists.

Central Michigan has been vulnerable on the road this season, recording a 5-5 away record. Both of its conference losses were on opponent’s homecourts. BSU is hoping to take advantage of the road woes Saturday at 2 p.m. inside Worthen Arena.

The game will be aired on ESPN3, produced by Ball State Sports Link.  Cory Stace, Noah Reed and Matt Craig will have the call.  Erinn Casey will produce the contest, while J.C. Obringer will direct.

ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through WatchESPN.

The network is currently available to more than 99 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider.  The broadcast is also available with the ESPN App on AT&T DIRECTV set top boxes, allowing customers to seamlessly switch between all ESPN live and on-demand video to their TVs through a hybrid interface.

Central Michigan notes:

• Reyna Frost leads MAC in rebounds per game (11.0)
• Enters Muncie with a 7 game win streak
• Ranks second in the MAC in field goal percentage (.448), three-point field goal percentage (.358), and free throw percentage (.764)

Ball State notes:

• Moriah Monaco is 14 points away from the 1,000 point club
• Carmen Grande is 4 assists shy of moving into 8th place for all-time assists at Ball State, while also ranked second in nation in assists per game at 7.5
• Leads the MAC in scoring margin (+11.8), field goal percentage (.453), and blocked shots (4.2)