In its closest game of the season, Ball State withstood a late-game rally from Northern Illinois to win 51-50.
The game was very physical and controlled by strong defense from both teams.
"We knew that it would be hard and a physical game that was going to be defense-oriented," head coach Brady Sallee said. "We would not give many offensive looks on the inside."
The offenses failed to produce any momentum, with both teams shooting at or below 35 percent in the first half.
Ball State struggled from 3-point range, going 1-of-11 in the first half, finishing the game at only 20 percent from beyond the arc.
"We had some good looks, but it was just one of those games where we weren't able to hit any of them," Sallee said.
The offense picked it up in the second half of the game, shooting 60 percent from the field. The majority of the offense came from sophomore Renee Bennett and junior Nathalie Fontaine.
Bennett and Fontaine both went 6-for-12 and finished the day with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
"Renee and Nathalie have done well inside all season, so we knew they could get in a produce for us against Northern Illinois' defense," Sallee said.
Ball State outscored Northern Illinois 30-8 inside the paint.
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 15-10 on the season, their most wins in the regular season since Sallee became head coach. Ball State also moves to 9-3 in the Mid-American Conference.
Ball State will return home to face Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. Feb. 25 in Worthen Arena.
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