The Mid-American Conference West Division leader was defeated for the first time in conference play Saturday, as the Ball State women's basketball team fell to Buffalo 53-43.
Unlike its first four MAC games, Ball State did not put together the dominant performance on defense that led it to four straight wins.
"It was a very tough and physical game that we struggled to stay consistent in," head coach Brady Sallee said.
Throughout the first half, Ball State and Buffalo remained in a tight contest. At the break, the Cardinals led 30-28 behind junior Nathalie Fontaine's double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The second half was a different story for Fontaine and Ball State, as she was held scoreless. The team mustered just 13 points total in the second half, finishing with a 22.6 field goal percentage.
Senior Shelbie Justice, the Cardinals' third leading scorer, had four points all from the free-throw line. Justice finished 0-12 from the field.
"I'm not too worried about how we shot today," Sallee said. "We have shot great in the past, we just struggled today."
Sallee followed by saying that the rebounding margin worried him, as Buffalo pulled down 58 boards compared to 42 from Ball State.
"We aren't going to compete very well rebounding like today." Sallee said.
Additional possessions led to more free-throw attempts for the Bulls. The Cardinals finished the day with 24 fouls, leading to 28 free throw attempts.
Ball State made the same amount of free throws as Buffalo despite shooting eight less. Sallee said that the fouls were in part the reason for the Cardinals' struggles.
"The fouls really hurt us early trying to get a rhythm and just continued to be an issue in the game," he said.
Ball State falls back to .500 at 8-8 with the loss, ending its four-game winning streak. The Cardinals are now 4-1 in MAC play.
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