The Ball State women's basketball team fell to Ohio 60-53 at Worthen Arena on Saturday, in a match-up of the two best teams in the Mid-American Conference.
The Cardinals' offense was inconsistent throughout, due to the Bobcats' inside pressure on defense.
Junior Nathalie Fontaine led the Cardinals with 18 points, shooting 5-of-14 from the field goal. Sophomore Jill Morrison and freshman Moriah Monaco also scored in double digits, with 12 and 11 respectively. Morrison and Monaco struggled from the field and shot a combined 6-of-15.
"They executed a game plan and knew how to guard us, while we failed to execute defensively." Morrison said.
Halfway through the second half, Ball State went on a 16-2 run, closing on what had been a 45-30 deficit. The lead went back and forth until the game's final three minutes, when Ohio shut down the Ball State offense.
"[Ohio was] the tougher team tonight," Ball State head coach Brady Sallee said. "They won with that toughness and physicality that we couldn't match."
The Bobcats took advantage of the Cardinals' poor defensive execution, outscoring them 28-8 in the paint. Ohio out-rebounded Ball State 39-30.
"We had a very specific game plan for this game and they hurt us when we didn't execute," Sallee said. "When they are able to do that, it really deflates a team."
The loss pushes Ball State to 9-9 on the season and 5-2 in MAC play.
Ohio improves to 15-3 and 6-1 in the MAC, taking sole possession of the top spot in the conference.
Ball State returns to action at 7 p.m. on Jan. 28 at Miami.
Ball State defeated Miami 72-41 earlier this season.
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