Cleveland, OH

'Sense of urgency' propels Ball State women's basketball over Western Michigan in MAC Tournament

Published

7 hours ago

March 13, 2025

'Sense of urgency' propels Ball State women's basketball over Western Michigan in MAC Tournament

CLEVELAND – When Ball State women’s head coach, Brady Sallee, is up during the “lonely hours” in his hotel finding it hard to sleep, he is thinking of getting his seniors a Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship.

The seniors have put in the hard work, put in the years and built the program up. This is their last MAC Tournament of their careers. Now, the Cardinals have to get the job done, Sallee said.

Ball State (25-7, 17-2 MAC) got a step closer to achieving their ultimate goal with a MAC Tournament first round 82-53 win against Western Michigan (12-18, 8-11 MAC).

Sallee said the Cardinals came out ready to play. After seniors Madelyn Bischoff and Alex Richard started hitting shots early, he said Ball State dug their heels in after that.

Ball State outscored the Broncos 25-15 in the opening frame and shot it at an efficient 64.7 percent from the field.

“Once we got our run in, that’s when we just flipped the gas pedal,” senior Ally Becki said.

Becki said there is a little added pressure in realizing it could be the final game of her career in the tournament if Ball State lost, but the first game is always the most nerve-racking.

“It adds pressure,” senior Marie Kiefer said, agreeing with Becki. “But I think since we’ve been here for so long, we’re experienced, and we know what we have to do.”

Even if the seniors felt the pressure, Becki finished with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting with eight asssits. Kiefer had a double-double with ten points and 13 rebounds. Bischoff finished with 14 points while being 50 percent from deep, and Richard had a team-high 17 points on 8-for-12 shooting. Graduate student Elise Stuck had 12 points off the bench in only 17 minutes played.

Ball State players celebrate after defeating Western Michigan during the first round of the Mac Championship on March 12, at Rocket Arena at Cleveland Oh. Ball State is now 25-7. Titus Slaughter, DN

Becki is one day removed from being named the MAC Player of the Year, but could not be more happy that the race is over. She said it is relieving to get it out of the way and focus on the task at hand: winning the MAC Championship.

Becki said there is an added “sense of urgency” since this is the senior’s last go-around, but the locker room still has the same mentality—to play for each other.

Just as Becki said urgency was a mentality this week, Sallee pinpointed the two back-to-back losses against Toledo and Kent State as creating that same urgency.

“We got away from talking about technical things and just talking about fight,” Sallee said. “More importantly, who we were fighting for. When those kids look in that locker room at each other, there’s no question who they’re fighting for.”

Alongside his seniors, Sallee said he is trying to take a step back and enjoy the ride with the 2024-25 squad.

“These groups don’t come along every day,” Sallee said.

Sallee said some moments he has stepped back and appreciated are the players smiling and genuinely happy.

SLAUGHTER_DN_WOMENSBASKETBALLWESTERNMI_2025_10
-1.jpg — Ball State sophomore Hailey Smith smiles during a game against Western Michigan on March 12 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Oh. Titus Slaughter, DN

“I know that trophy that we won the other day, or hopefully the one we win here, it’s going to sit in somebody’s office and collect dust at some point,” Sallee said. “But those memories, man, that’s what this is about. Ultimately, that’s what we’re chasing.”

Ball State will face the winner of Kent State vs. Miami and play at 10 a.m. with a trip to MAC the championship game on the line.

Contact Elijah Poe via email at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.

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Cleveland, OH

Kendrick Perkins All In On Celtics Repeating as NBA Champions This Year

Published

19 hours ago

March 12, 2025

Press Room

Kendrick Perkins All In On Celtics Repeating as NBA Champions This Year

Former Boston Celtics starting center Kendrick Perkins, who helped Boston win the 2008 title alongside future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, believes his old team can claim a record-extending 19th championship this summer.

Now led by perpetual All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics are riding high following a 64-win 2023-24 season that ended in a title. The 2024-25 iteration, which has brought back all of Boston’s rotation pieces from last year, is looking like a serious contender ahead of this spring’s playoffs, too.

More Boston Celtics: Isiah Thomas Gets Brutally Honest About Decision to Not Appear in New Celtics Documentary

At 47-18 on the season, Boston is currently the second seed in the Eastern Conference, and looks primed for another deep postseason run.

Perkins also predicted the club the Celtics would beat in this year’s NBA Finals. The Celtics took down All-NBA guard Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks in five games. Now, Doncic is turning heads on the 40-23 Los Angeles Lakers, after a stunning midseason trade upended the hierarchy in the Western Conference.

Still, Perkins believes that the West’s No. 1 seed, the 53-12 Oklahoma City Thunder, will ultimately emerge out of the conference — ahead of Doncic’s Lakers and reigning MVP center Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets.

More Boston Celtics: Celtics Named as Landing Spot For ACC Center in New NBA Mock Draft

“I picked OKC in December to represent the Western Conference, I picked them in January, February, and I’m picking them in March to go to the Finals,” Perkins recently opined on ESPN’s NBA Countdown. “I’m picking the Boston Celtics to win the NBA championship, it’s levels to this.”

On Tuesday night, missing All-NBA superstar power forward Jayson Tatum, starting center Kristaps Porzingis, and Porzingis’ normal backup Al Horford, Boston managed to eke out a 114-108 victory against the lowly Utah Jazz.

Four-time All-Star small forward Jaylen Brown scored 26 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field and 10-of-11 shooting from the charity stripe, pulled down eight rebounds, dished out seven dimes, swiped three steals and blocked a shot. Bench forward Sam Hauser, starting for Tatum, led Boston with 33 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the floor (9-of-19 from long range) and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line. All-Defensive Team guard Derrick White chipped in an 18-point, 10-assist double-double.

As the likely No. 2 seed, Boston will face off against a No. 7 seed — who will be determined in a pre-playoffs play-in tournament. The current seventh seed, the 31-34 Atlanta Hawks, would face off against he current eighth seed, the 30-36, Orlando Magic, if the playoffs started today. The winner of the 7-8 play-in matchup would earn the No. 7 seed and advance to a matchup with the No. 2 seed, while the loser would play the winner of the play-in clash between the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds.

More Boston Celtics:

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For more news and notes on the Boston Celtics, visit Boston Celtics on SI.

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Cleveland, OH

Drivers shoot at each other in Buckeye Shaker Square neighborhood; 60 shell casings found

Published

1 day ago

March 12, 2025

Press Room

Drivers shoot at each other in Buckeye Shaker Square neighborhood; 60 shell casings found

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Two vehicles were allegedly shooting at each other in the middle of a major intersection Tuesday afternoon.

According to Cleveland Police, officers were called to the 2900 block of East 130th Street at 1:30 p.m. for shots fired.

Police said two vehicles were struck but there were no injuries.

Officers were able to locate one of the vehicles involved but it was abandoned.

The intersection of 130th Street and Buckeye Road is still blocked as police investigate.

Intersection blocked, large police presence in Buckeye Shaker Square neighborhood(WOIO)

Our crews found at least 60 bullet casings on the ground and caution tape up.

This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.

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Cleveland, OH

Cleveland Municipal Court to reopen Wednesday

Published

2 days ago

March 11, 2025

Press Room

Cleveland Municipal Court to reopen Wednesday

CLEVELAND — Cleveland Municipal Court will reopen to the public on Wednesday, according to officials.

Cleveland Municipal Court will hear all cases previously scheduled for Wednesday as well.

Many court operations, except the jail docket, were suspended starting Feb. 23 due to a cybersecurity incident. The investigation remains ongoing, court officials said. Details about the investigation haven’t been revealed as of Wednesday.

All criminal and civil cases set for hearings between Feb. 24 and March 11 will be rescheduled in no less than 30 days after the court opens. Notices will be sent out by the Clerk of Court to the affected parties, court officials said.

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