MT Pleasant, Mich. - A first half marred by turnovers nearly did the women's basketball team in against Central Michigan last night, but big plays on defense and veteran leadership from the guards led the Cardinals to their fourth straight victory, 78-70.
From the start of the game, the Cardinals (9-4, 3-0 MAC) were unable to get their offense running as a tight defense by Central (7-7, 1-2) forced 10 turnovers in the first ten minutes, leaving head coach Tracy Roller half-way speechless as to why her team turned the ball over 25 times.
"Flat out - it was all Central," Roller said. "They were bigger, they had longer arms and they were able to reach those passes we couldn't make. They came out and were ready to beat us, and they played like they wanted to win."
Falling behind Central by as many as 10 points in the first half, the Cardinals rallied behind the play of their defense, holding the Chippewas to only four points in the final nine minutes of the first half. The Cardinals managed to claw their way into a one-point halftime lead, 30-29.
But as defensive-minded as the second half was, the game totally changed to the offensive as both teams started hitting three-point shots.
Ball State hit eight of it's 11 three-pointers in the second half as the Cardinals traded threes with the Chippewas on several occasions, leaving the coaches shaking their heads in confusion.
"I wish I had a dollar for everytime someone hit a three," Roller said. "It was a great fan game. There were times where it seemed we would come down, hit a three and they would come right back and do the same to us."
Junior Johna Goff and sophomore Kate Endress - both of whom were struggling with their shooting - led the Cardinal onslaught, hitting five and four three-pointers, respectively. Goff led all scorers with 25 points, while Endress was second with 23.
"If I could figure out what they did, I'd write a book and make a lot of money," Roller said. "I'm just really happy for both of them. It's just a good example of what happens to people when they work hard at something."
Senior Tamara Bowie saw limited action after falling into foul trouble early, but Roller said that had little to do with the lack of playing time.
"She just couldn't guard (Desiree) Eidson," Roller said. "I really felt like a lot of the shots they were getting on the outside were because of some of her mistakes in the middle."
Down the stretch, with the Cardinals clinging to a six-point lead, both Goff and junior Julie Just hit key free-throws to secure the win as Central tried in vain to hit three-pointers and even up the game.
"Central came ready to play," Roller said. "They were very athletic and physical. They did an excellent job of scouting us and playing to our abilities."
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