Ball State is no stranger to big moments this season.
Trailing by eight with just 52 seconds left against Detroit early in the season, Nathalie Fontaine converted an and-one opportunity, Brittany Carter nailed a three and Shanee’ Jackson sank two free throws with six seconds left to send the game into overtime. Ball State went on to win 73-64.
In their first MAC game against Miami, leading 60-59 and the game on the line, Carter went up for a three, but quickly fired a pass to an open Fontaine under the hoop who banked in a layup to give the Cardinals a three-point lead with just 22 seconds left. Ball State won 62-59.
Then on Thursday night against Central Michigan, a 15-point Ball State lead had been trimmed to three. With five minutes left, Katie Murphy was fouled on a layup. The ball went in, she converted the foul shot and Ball State rode the momentum to a win that put them at 8-1 in the MAC.
“Between our ears I just thought we were tough in those situations, we’ve been there and done it before,” head coach Brady Sallee said.
Ball State may need another few big moments if they want to knock off Toledo. Coming in tied with Ball State for first in the MAC West, Toledo has a nearly unblemished record of 20-2, and has played suffocating defense.
Allowing just 49 points per game in MAC play and outscoring their opponents by an average of 13 points this season, Toledo will provide Ball State their biggest test of the season.
Ranked No. 5 in the mid-majors, Toledo is led by senior Naama Shafir and junior Andola Dortch, who both are scoring 11.7 points per game.
Ball State will need Fontaine to continue her hot streak. Setting a career high with 23 points Thursday night, she’s averaging 19 points per game over the team’s last three games.
Murphy and Fontaine will need to continue their impressive defensive effort in the paint. With Toledo ranked No. 10 in the MAC in three point shooting and No. 11 in free throw percentage, the Rockets will likely try to move the ball into the paint, where Murphy and Fontaine’s defense will be critical.
Toledo’s defense isn’t the only one making headlines. Teams are shooting just 33 percent against Ball State in MAC play, much of it because the players are buying into Sallee’s system.
“I think we really saw it against Detroit, what happens when we buy in,” Murphy said. “What his game plan is, that it’s going to work. Ever since then I feel like we’re really bought into every game plan that he’s put in front of us.”
Since the win against Detroit, Ball State has gone 9-5 overall and 8-1 in the MAC, compared to just 2-6 before.
Ball State will have to execute better than ever against Toledo, considering the strength of their opponent and magnitude of the game. A win against the Rockets would vault the Cardinals into first place in the MAC West, and help resurrect a program that was expected to finish last in the conference standings this season.
With just weeks remaining before the MAC tournament, Ball State will face Toledo twice. Once on Sunday at Worthen Arena, and again in Toledo in the season finale, both games will be critical to seeding in the tournament.
Despite the looming road trip to Toledo, Sallee isn’t likely to look ahead. He’s said several times that he doesn’t look at the schedule, and the only team he looks at who is coming up next against Ball State.
Key plays in big situations have defined Sallee’s team over the past couple of months.
A few more, and they might be sitting in sole possession of first on Sunday evening.
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