Cardinals win second straight, defeating Austin Peay 72-44

Freshman forward Moriah Monaco takes a shot from behind the arc during the game against Ohio on Jan. 24 at Worthen Arena. DN PHOTO BREANNA DAUGHERTY
Freshman forward Moriah Monaco takes a shot from behind the arc during the game against Ohio on Jan. 24 at Worthen Arena. DN PHOTO BREANNA DAUGHERTY

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Opponent - Florida 

Location - Boulder, Colo.

Time - 7 p.m.

Listen - Fox Sports Radio 102.9FM/1340AM


Defense, particularly the full-court press, was the name of the game, head coach Brady Sallee said.

“The cumulative effect of keeping that press on, … it can wear a team out,” he said. “I thought that had a big effect. They had some passes that were pretty open that they could shut down pretty quick.”

Sophomore forward Moriah Monaco led the Cardinals with 16 points, and junior guard Jill Morrison led the team with six steals. 

Sallee said he expects anybody on his team to perform as well.

“If this press is played the right way, tonight it’s [Morrison], tomorrow it could be [Monaco] — just depending on how they break it and what they’re doing with it,” he said. “[Morrison's] so active that those loose balls go down and she flies around, and she likes it that way — a little bit of a kamikaze at times.”

Overall, Ball State limited Austin Peay to 27.8 percent from the field and just three for 19 beyond the arc. The Cardinals racked up 14 steals while scoring 17 points off the Governors’ 21 turnovers.

Monaco enjoyed playing tight defense throughout the game.

“To get them to throw a bad pass into the middle and then one of us intercept it and we go down and score — that’s a lot of fun,” Monaco said.

Sallee said a major priority was stopping the Governors' senior guard Tiasha Gray, who finished last season 15th in the nation with 21.2 points per game and 23rd in assists per game at 5.7.

“I think she elicits that kind of a gameplan as good as she is,” he said. “For me, this is also bigger than just tonight, because we’re gonna see some other guards like her [in conference play]. Now we already know we’ve executed it and executed it well.”

Guarding Gray was a focus in practice throughout the entire week.

Starting freshman point guard Carmen Grande guarded Gray during the game. Sallee was proud of her performance, despite the slow start.

“She had to guard the other team’s best player,” he said. “What crazy coach gives a freshman — three games in — the 15th leading scorer in the country? … She started it out like she didn’t quite believe me — how good the kid was — and then [Gray] hit two shots in her face. And then she figured out, ‘OK, Coach isn’t jackin’ me around here.’”

During a timeout in the second quarter the Cardinals led by just one point, 18-17 with 9:17 left.

After the break in action, Ball State embarked on a seven-minute-long 13-3 run that featured two 3-pointers from Morrison to bring the halftime score to 31-22 in favor of Ball State. 

The Cardinals put on the pressure again by opening up the third quarter with a 15-3 run to increase the lead, 48-25, with Monaco scoring 9 of the team's points during the run.

Morrison and Monaco sunk 6-18 combined 3-point shots. Sallee believed their performance complemented the team's defensive effort. 

“We’ve got these two that almost sometimes think 3-pointers are lay-ups, so they run up to that 3-point line and let it fly,” he said. “And you know what? I’m OK with it, because they’ve proven themselves.”

Senior guard Nathalie Fontaine recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and junior center Renee Bennett scored 10 points with three blocks.

Sallee said he hopes to continue to run the press effectively, especially when Mid-American Conference play starts in January.

“I like the length that we have on our team,” he said. “Nobody would ever accuse us of being the most athletic team, but we are big and long and we can get our hands on a lot of balls and we’ll play hard. I think that’s a good equation to be able to press. … So far, it’s not been bad.”

The Cardinals will travel to Boulder, Colo., during Thanksgiving Break for the Omni Hotels Classic. They will play against the University of Florida on Nov. 27 and take on either Colorado or UMass on Nov. 28.

Their next home game is set for Dec. 3 against Ohio Valley University.

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