OXFORD, Ohio -A furious late rally almost allowed Ball State University to escape with a come-from-behind road victory on Wednesday. But two free throws by Miami's (Ohio) Eve Pyle with two seconds left gave the RedHawks a 66-65 win. "It was too late by the time we started to compete," coach Tracy Roller said. "We stepped up in the second half and fought back, but when you're on the road you just cant [start slow]."Ball State (10-7, 3-3 Mid-American Conference) trailed 61-49 with 5:12 remaining. Erica Cotton scored eight points in a 12-1 Ball State run that pulled the Cards to within a point.Raechelle Hampton hit a left-handed shot in the lane to give Ball State a 65-64 lead with 12 seconds remaining. But a Ball State foul led to the game clinching free throws from Pyle."You never want to put yourself in a position where your game is decided by an official's call," Roller said. "Unfortunately we didn't play well enough to get ourselves ahead to not have to rely on that.Pyle finished with the game-high in both points (19) and rebounds (15). Miami's bench outscored Ball State 45-13.Cotton led four Ball State players in double-figures with 17 points. Julie DeMuth finished with 13 rebounds and had 10 points."We didn't deserve to win," DeMuth said. "It's disappointing slash frustrating, but we've just got to pull it together and play a full 40 minutes."Ball State trailed early and it forced the Cardinals to make a comeback. Miami scored the first nine points of the game and opened up a 13-point lead before the Cardinals came back and closed the gap to 22-19.Cotton's jumper at the end of the half pulled the Cardinals to within five, 29-24.Miami outrebounded Ball State 54-42, which led to easy putback baskets for the RedHawks."I thought rebounding was going to be the key - and it was," Roller said. "We just didn't compete in the post for some reason."
ROSTER CHANGEKrista Stewart is no longer with the women's basketball team. Roller said Stewart left the team for personal reasons.Stewart played just four minutes against Eastern Michigan last Wednesday and saw no action against Northern Illinois on Saturday. She was averaging 8.4 points per game this season and started four games early in the season.
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