The women's basketball team did something it has not done all season - put away a game in the first half. The Cardinals used a 17-2 run to start the game to leave Eastern Michigan watching as the Cardinals defeated the Eagles 89-71 Wednesday night.
Sophomore Johna Goff worked her way out of a three-game shooting slump by scoring 16 first-half points.
"I just came out like I do every game, trying to be a threat on offense," Goff said. "Tonight I just got lucky."
Luck did not have much to do with it, as Goff continually found holes in the Eagles zone defense, leaving her with good looks at the basket. She never hesitated when squared up to the basket on her way to hitting six of nine shots in the first half, including 3-4 from behind the three-point line.
"She was on fire," junior Amy Zercher said.
While the Cardinals (17-4 overall, 9-1 Mid-American Conference) were hitting nearly every shot they took, the Eagles (12-9, 5-5) struggled, hitting only one of their first 13 shots.
Many of Eastern's shots were forced because of strong Cardinal defense and rebounding.
"Our defense and our rebounding has really gotten good," head coach Tracy Roller said. "I think that is how you stay consistent and win games."
Consistency is a problem Ball State has been struggling with all season, but with the play of its bench members, the team found new stability in Zercher, freshman Kate Endress and sophomores Julie Just and Jessica Nohl. And it was Nohl's rebounding that helped the Cardinals to a 44-31 rebounding edge over the Eagles.
"She's the type of (player) who will do whatever it takes," Roller said. "If it's come in and play three minutes and give somebody and breather, if it's come in and play 20 minutes and score 15 points and 10 rebounds, she'll do whatever it takes to win."
Ball State's bench scored 28 points, led by Zercher's 10, and provided tough defense in key situations to keep Eastern on its heels.
"We're hard to beat because we are the ultimate team," Roller said. "When you have a team, you're trouble. Look at the (New England) Patriots and what they did."
The second half showed the toughness of the Eagles, as they fought through foul trouble to bring the game as close as six points.
"We just like to relax," Zercher said. "We somehow have to get that killer mentality. We have to finish teams off in the beginning and keep going, working on other stuff to get better."
When Eastern's top two post players - Kate Wiseman and Shani Charles - were on the bench due to fouls, the smaller, quicker lineup that Eastern head coach Suzy Merchant used took advantage of the Cardinals' man defense.
"To our kids credit, they had five guards on the floor at one point and we were trying to guard them with post players," Roller said. "Like I've said all along, it's going to take us a little while to get this defense down."
With her 17th win, Tracy Roller ties for the most wins by a first-year coach at Ball State, and it is the team's seventh win in a row. But just like Bowie, Crook and Endress - who care more about winning than individual awards - Roller just wants to see the team succeed.
"I didn't even know, " Roller said. "We're just trying to get better. Whatever happens to us individually and myself as coach of the team is just icing on the cake."
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