TOLEDO, Ohio - Leading as many as 15 points with eight minutes remaining in the first half, the women's basketball team suddenly found it difficult to score as Toledo University rattled off 17 points to leave the Cardinals grasping for answers.
After Ball State controlled the opening minutes of the game with its quick strikes and fastbreak points, Toledo switched to a 2-3 zone defense that left the Cardinal players confused.
Sophomore Kate Endress was the biggest victim, as she scored 13 points in the first 10 minutes, only to be held scoreless until the final 12 minutes.
"We couldn't get in our rythym or get into our flow," Ball State head coach Tracy Roller said. "This is really the first game when a team has consistently played us zone and we just looked a little lost."
The Cardinals lost their first game in nearly a month and fell to 11-5 overall and 5-1 in the league, while Toledo improved to 12-5 and 5-1 in the Mid-American Conference.
The Cardinals made a few runs, sparked juniors Johna Goff and Julie Just and freshman Dana Collins, who all hit key 3-pointers as the Cardinals rallied to take the lead early in the second half.
But the lead was short lived as Toledo continually pounded the ball into the post, wearing the Cardinal players down, finding good looks at the basket for easy points. Toledo shot 62 percent in the second half and out-scored the Cardinals.
"We just couldn't stop them," Roller said. "In the post they just kept coming at us and we didn't do much to stop them."
Tamara Bowie scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Kate Endress chipped in 16 points. Johna Goff finished with 14 points, while Jessica Reiter grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
"We were just unable to stop them defensively," Roller said. "They just took us out of our game and started hitting their shots. Then it was just a matter of execution."
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