Missed free throws combined with clutch shots by Eastern Michigan's leading scorer led to the second home loss of the season for the women's basketball team on Wednesday.
Ball State University (9-6, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) missed two crucial free throws in the final two minutes, including the front end of a one-and-one, and fell to the Eagles 66-58.
"We didn't hit shots when we needed to - free throws, layups," sophomore Julie DeMuth said. "We didn't get stops, and when you don't get stops you can't score."
Ryan Coleman, the Eagles' leading scorer at 18.2 points, scored all 15 points in the second half and hit numerous big shots down the stretch. Coleman scored 10 points in the final 3:30 of the game, crushing the Cardinals' comeback hopes.
Perhaps the biggest shot Coleman hit was a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down. Coleman pulled up on the left wing and hit the shot with a defender in her face. The basket gave Eastern a 61-57 lead with 1:36 to play.
"Players make plays in great games like this and Coleman made some great plays at the end," coach Tracy Roller said.
A bright spot for the Cardinals was the return of junior center Becca Bajorek. Playing in her first game of the season following hip surgery, Bajorek scored four points in 12 minutes. She was 2-of-3 shooting and provided a spark for Ball State.
"There was a lot of adrenaline flowing through me," Bajorek said. "I was very excited, I was ready, I was focused. It felt really good to get back out here and help my team out."
The Cardinals trailed 30-27 at the 17:06 mark in the second half when Bajorek entered the game. She hit her first shot, starting a 6-0 run.
"Just that emotional burst that she gave us coming off the bench and then hitting those big shots," Roller said. "It gave us a big boost and got us over the hump and got us the lead."Both teams struggled shooting the ball in the first half. Eastern shot 29 percent, while the Cards were just 20 percent. The offenses improved in the second half with Ball State shooting 65 percent and the Eagles shooting 64.
"I really felt like in the first half when we got the ball in the lane we were just being unaggressive," Roller said. "We really didn't finish our shots well in the lane all game. We missed some close ones there at the end."
DeMuth led Ball State with 15 points and added five rebounds and four steals. She was 5-of-6 from the floor after halftime.
Sarah VanMetre led four Eagles players in double-figures with 19 points. Point guard Patrice McKinney grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds and added 13 points.
"We didn't play VanMetre very well," Roller said. "She definitely had a great game. Their starting five is very difficult to guard and we knew that was going to be a problem."
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